Unwanted
by TMNTfan1
Summary: Her father only wanted sons, so the first chance he got, he got rid of her. Sold her to the highest bidder. It was uncommon, even in a place as cold and cruel as the Isle of the Lost. Who would have thought it was probably the best thing her father could have done for her? Rated T for suggestive themes and topics.
1. Chapter 1

A young girl followed her father down the dirty, crowded streets of the Isle of the Lost. She kept her head down, her black hair swinging with her steps and covering her face, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Hurry up, Gab." a rough hand shoved at her shoulder, making her stumble a couple steps before picking up her pace until she fell into step under her father's shadow. She had three forms, at least a couple inches taller than her, walking in a half-circle behind her. Her older brothers.

They passed through the crowded marketplace, where dozens of people turned to watch them. The girl felt the burn of many eyes on her as she hurried after her father. Probably because that, while most of the Isle's residents knew of her existence, very few had actually seen her, especially the past couple years.

Finally, her father seemed to reach a spot that satisfied him. Grabbing a nearby crate, he tossed it bottom-side-up on the dirt ground and stepped up onto it, adding a good foot to his already-intimidating height.

A rough hand grabbed the girl's shoulders and turned her around, turning and pushing her so that she stood in front of her father, but just to the side so as not to block anyone's view of him. She looked anxiously up at her brother-the one that was positioning her-but she saw nothing in his eyes as he looked back at her. His black hair was smoothed back out of his empty brown eyes.

She looked around anxiously at her other two brothers, who stood a step behind their eldest. Her youngest older brother wouldn't meet her eyes, his dirty blonde hair, which differed from all of them, fell in his eyes as he moved to stand behind her and their father.

"May I have your attention!" her father called in a commanding voice. She instantly looked down at her feet-feet that were covered in black boots that were slightly too small for her.

"Find a mirror!" someone sneered at him as people moved around the marketplace. "Then you can give yourself attention."

Several people cackled and snickered at the jab.

"Well, I certainly won't be selling to you, then." her father shot back, his voice tight with anger.

"What're you selling, Gaston?" another voice called. "I don't see your usual big game anywhere."

That's right. Her father was Gaston. _The_ Gaston, the one who was imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost for trying to kidnap the current Queen, Belle, and trying to murder the current King, Adam, formerly known as the Beast.

"Nope. No big game today." Gaston called back. "I've got something even better. My daughter: Gabrielle."

Gabrielle, or Gabby, glanced up slightly from between strands of ink-black hair. She saw a small crowd had formed around them, and people were talking among themselves, glancing curiously at her.

"And why would someone want to buy your unwanted brat?" someone called cynically. Gabby winced, tucking her head even more into her chest to hide her face.

"Why wouldn't you?" Gaston called back charismatically. "If you bought her, she'd be your property. Nothing more than a possession. You could make her do whatever you wanted, and she couldn't argue or fight back. _Isn't that right?_ " he asked pointedly, and Gabby felt his boot roughly jab her back. She shook her head quickly. "She's the perfect housewife, or maid, if you'd prefer. She knows how to cook, clean; she can take care of everything in the house while you do more important things."

Gabby heard a couple voices change to interest, some people actually considering the idea.

"How much do you want for her?" a man in the crowd called.

"How much are you offering?" Gaston countered.

A quieter voice spoke nearby, clearly not offering any bids yet. "She'd be perfect for cleaning the ship and cookin' for the crew, Captain."

"Right you are, Mr. Smee." another voice agreed. Gabby glanced to her left and saw a man in a red pirate coat with a hook for a hand-clearly the infamous Captain Hook-and a small, short man standing next to him with spectacles. There were a few children just behind Hook, one boy and two girls. The boy, who looked maybe a year or two older than her with brown hair and an outfit like his father, looked her over with a creepy smirk. When she met his eyes with her own light blue ones, he winked at her.

Gabby yanked her head back down while Captain Hook called out a bid.

"How about one of my best swords?"

"I have plenty of weapons, Hook, ones that are much more useful than a big knife." Gaston countered disdainfully. "Sweeten the deal a bit next time."

"What about one of my father's shotguns?" a boy called, maybe a couple years older than Gabby. She glanced at him and saw that he had dark hair and wore a yellow jacket. He was smirking suggestively at her, his eyes trailing down her legs. Gabby clenched her jaw as her pale cheeks flushed red. She really hated the tattered red dress she was wearing at the moment, which was at least a couple years old and too small on her developing, 12 year-old body. "And I think I'll throw in a couple bear furs my father's collected-for those legs alone." he added, causing a couple guys behind him to hoot and laugh.

Gabby's eyes burned with shame, but she couldn't cry. She wouldn't show that much weakness. Plus, her father would beat her if people retracted their bids because she got snotty-nosed.

"I've got plenty of shotguns, and I can collect my own skins. Nice try, Clay." Gaston countered. "Anyone else? Come on, people! Your own personal slave! Surely you can all think of something you could do with a young, beautiful girl who knows how to take care of a house!"

Gabby squeezed her eyes shut, bile building in her throat. She could hear a few voices nearby-girls, from the sound of it.

"Is she seriously just going to stand there and take this? That's so pathetic!"

"I know! I mean, just run away or something. If my father tried this, I'd run him through with my sword!"

A few more people threw out bids. Cruella De Vil, with her young son at her side, offered some hair dye. Gaston said unless she was willing to part with one of her precious fur coats, she could forget it. She stormed off in a huff, saying she could never part with her "only true love". Some Edgar Balthazar offered a couple scuffed gems. Ursula's offer seemed to be the sweetest, however. She offered him a couple potions she had as well as three free meals from her Fish and Chips shop. Gabby was fairly certain she was going to win. Gaston would love free food to feed his three "strapping young sons". Getting rid of his daughter would just be icing on the cake.

Then, a new voice called from the crowd.

"I've got a bid!"

Gabby tilted her head up slightly to peak through her black hair. The crowd parted slightly to let a young teenage boy through, carrying a brown cloth sack in one hand. He was wearing a tattered burgundy and yellow vest with blue pants, his long, gangly arms on display. A black beanie covered his shoulder-length brown hair. He looked about her age, maybe a year or so older. Gabby watched him, both curious and wary, as he stepped closer. He glanced at her, his dark brown eyes briefly meeting her light blue before she ducked her head again.

"And what do you have that I want, Jay?" Gaston asked carefully.

Jay lifted the bag he was holding and opened it to look inside. "I've got…a gold pocket watch, a pearl bracelet, five gold coins, a black leather belt, and a dagger with a ruby encrusted handle." Finally, he looked up and stared expectantly up at Gaston.

Gabby also glanced cautiously up at her father. He appeared to be thinking hard about it-Gabby joked to herself that it must be painful.

"Where'd you get all that, boy?" Gaston asked carefully.

"My dad's shop." Jay answered promptly. "He probably won't be pleased that I'm giving it to you. So, do you want it or not?" He lifted the bag and shook it slightly, causing the contents to clink and jingle-a sound that was probably very tempting to her father.

Gaston was silent for only a few more seconds. "Very well. Sold!" Gaston held his hand out expectantly. Jay only passed the bag into his hand after Gaston roughly kicked Gabby's back so that she stumbled forward. Jay grabbed her arm; to keep her from running or falling, she wasn't sure. "Pleasure doing business with you." Gaston mocked, stepping down from the crate.

Gabby turned and watched her family move away. Her father lead her brothers down the marketplace, maybe to buy dinner? The oldest two, the twins; Gaston Jr. and Gaston the Third, didn't hardly spare her a glance. Gil, a year younger than the twins and a year older than Gabby, glanced at her once before hurrying after his father. While the twins got their father's fair skin and black hair, they both had brown eyes from their mother. Gil almost completely took after their mother apart from the infamous cleft chin he got from Gaston. He had tan skin, blonde hair, and brown eyes.

Gabby alone took after her father the most, at least in looks. She guessed that was one of the reasons Gaston hated her so much; that and the fact that she was a girl. Gabby got his fair skin, black hair, and blue eyes. If she'd been born a boy, she probably would've been Gaston's favorite son. As it was, she was merely a stain on his name.

A tug on her arm pulled her back from her thoughts. She glanced at Jay before following him in the opposite direction from her family. She crossed her arms over her stomach as they walked down the street. Jay's hand didn't leave her upper arm. His grip wasn't painful, it was just _there_.

They walked through the market, turned into a couple alleys, and finally came to a building. It was an old, worn brick building. There were grimy windows on either side of the front door, one window showing an OPEN sign. A sign above the door read "Jafar's Junk Shop". A glance through the grimy windows showed shelves upon shelves of old, broken items: appliances like radios, clocks, lamps, and TVs; furniture like chairs, couches, and tables; trinkets like silverware and jewelry.

Jay lead the way to the door, which had at least twenty unlocked locks, and opened the door. He nudged Gabby in ahead of him and followed her in, closing the door behind him.

Gabby looked around, trying to stifle her curiosity. Curiosity had always gotten her in trouble as a child. Whether it was sticking her nose in a room where her dad was talking to her brothers, or asking too many questions, or the one time she picked up her dad's gun. It _never_ ended well. But there were so many things in this shop that it was hard not to at least look around.

Her eyes went straight ahead once again. There was an older man with tan skin and a black mustache wearing a black turban with a red feather, and black and red robes. He was leaning against the counter with a register, counting some gold coins. He had a red parrot on his shoulder. The bird narrowed it's eyes at Gabby and Jay before putting his beak near the man's ear. This caused the man's eyes to lift and fix on the two young teens.

His dark eyes glanced over Gabby, making her shift awkwardly, before they fixed on Jay just behind her shoulder.

"Jay? Who's this?" he asked carefully.

Jay's hand pushed at Gabby's back, not nearly as roughly as her brothers or father, until they both stood in front of the counter.

"Pop. This is…" Jay trailed off and suddenly Gabby felt his warm breath on her cheek. "What's your name?" he whispered.

Gabby cleared her throat. "Gabrielle." she said just loud enough for both to hear her.

Jay nodded. "Gabrielle. Gaston's daughter."

The man-Jafar, Gabby figured-smirked slightly as he looked at her again. "Well, I haven't seen Gaston's girl since she was a tyke. Used to tag along with your mother at the marketplace, right?" he asked. Gabby nodded stiffly. "What's she doin' here?" he asked his son.

Jay was silent for a few moments. "She's ours." he said slowly. Probably because that sentence sounded strange.

Jafar frowned, his thick brows furrowing in confusion. "What was that?"

Jay sighed, removing his hand from her back to cross his arms. "Gaston was at the marketplace. He was offering her up to the highest bidder. I bought her."

"You _what_?" Jafar hissed venomously. The parrot on his shoulder ruffled it's feathers. "And where, _exactly_ , did you get the gold to buy this little damsel, Jay?"

"I bought her with things I stole from people in the crowd." Jay assured his father. "I didn't pay a dime of your money."

"No, just with things I could have _sold_ for money." Jafar snapped angrily. "What were you think-?"

"I was _thinking_ she could be useful, Dad." Jay cut him off. "Gaston was going off on how she can do all this stuff; cook, clean… What all can you do?" he asked Gabby. He clearly hadn't been paying _that_ much attention when Gaston was giving his speech.

Swallowing, Gabby stuttered, "Um, I can cook, clean, sew,…any kind of housework, really. I could do other things, too. Whatever you need me to do."

"Could you clean the shop? Help out around here?" Jay asked.

Gabby nodded, glancing toward him. "If you just show me how or what to do, I can do it."

Jay turned back to his father. "See? She could be useful. She could make us food, help with the shop. Maybe I can even show her how to steal so she could help stock the shelves." Jafar still looked dubious, glancing between his son and the girl. "Dad, come on. All the stuff I bought her with, I can steal twice that before the day's done. And she can earn her worth working for us."

Jafar stood there in silence for a few moments, stroking his beard with one hand.

"Very well. If she doesn't earn her worth by the end of the week, you can sell her to someone else." Jafar decided.

"Sure thing, Pop." Jay agreed quietly.

Jafar nodded to the side. "She can sleep with you."

Gabby tensed, but Jay just grabbed her upper arm again and tugged her to the side. She followed him silently as they moved to the far back corner of the shop. In said corner was a large shelf stacked with old, broken TVs. Gabby glanced curiously at Jay when they stopped in front of it.

Jay waved his hand toward the floor under the bottom shelf. "It's not much, but I sleep here. My dad's got a mattress in the back, but…this is it for us. It's probably not what you're used to…"

"I'm used to worse." Gabby told him quietly, clasping her hands in front of her. "We live in a small hunting cabin near the woods. My father gets a bed, my brothers fight over a moldy mattress, or sleeping on a bearskin rug in front of the fireplace. I slept on the wood floor up in the loft."

Jay watched her silently for a moment. "Well, here you get an old rug." he said, waving his hand toward the bottom shelf. "We sleep under there."

Gabby hesitated for a moment before kneeling down and slowly crawling under the bottom shelf. Seeing how small the space was, she eventually decided to just lie down and roll under until her shoulder bumped the wall. Jay sat on the floor next to the shelf, but made no move to join her. He folded one long leg while the other bent up so he could rest an arm on his knee.

"So, why exactly did Gaston sell you?" Jay finally asked curiously.

Gabby rolled onto her side and looked out at him. "My dad's a bit…old fashioned? He doesn't think very highly of girls. He thinks they should just take care of the house and have babies. He was never very happy to have a daughter, so the first chance he got, he got rid of me. Sold me to the highest bidder." she added, gesturing toward him with her hand.

"That explains how I've never seen you around." Jay noted. "Did you go to Serpent Prep or something? I know your brothers go to Dragon Hall, I've seen them in classes, but I've never seen you."

Gabby shook her head. "I've never gone to school. My dad doesn't think girls should learn. My mother used to home school me a bit when he wasn't home, but…" she trailed off with a shrug.

Jay nodded and dropped the subject. This conversation was getting too close to personal. Villains didn't _do_ personal.

"Did you really steal all the things you bought me with?" Gabby asked, cautiously curious. After she asked the question, she flinched and pressed her back into the wall, half-expecting him to lash out at her for her curiosity.

Jay's chest puffed out arrogantly. "Yep. Why-you gunna tell your Daddy to see if he'll want you back?" he asked mockingly.

Gabby shook her head and answered as if he'd been serious. "I don't want to go back there."

The blunt, honest answer threw Jay for a loop and he scrambled to think of a subject change.

"Well, it's getting late. I'll go grab something for us to eat, and then tomorrow I can show you the ropes around here."

Gabby watched silently as he stood up and walked away.

When her dad told her that morning after breakfast that he would be selling her off, she'd been filled with a cold dread. Sure, her life with her family had been awful the past four years, but she couldn't imagine how horrible her life could be as someone else's slave. Especially considering what some teenage boys were like.

But she hesitantly was starting to think this was possibly the best scenario she could've got.

 **Author's Note: Well, here's the first chapter of my new** _ **Descendants**_ **fanfic** _ **Unwanted**_ **. I know Gaston having a daughter, especially one named Gabby, isn't exactly original, but this idea popped into my head, and I haven't found any exactly like it. I know the whole Gabby being Jay's property thing might make people uncomfortable, but everyone knows Jay's a good guy, right? He wouldn't make her do anything awful, like some of the other villain kids.**

 **The story starts a few years before the first** _ **Descendants**_ **, so year 2012,** __ **and ends sometime after** _ **Descendants 2**_ **. The first few chapters are going to be by year, which I'll label at the top of each chapter. I'll have stuff from the books, movies, and the cartoon in it. I'll try to update a chapter a week or so, but I make no promises since I'm starting a new job.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think so far! But please no flames!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch 2: (Year 2012)**

Gabby woke up the next morning to something moving next to her. She went tense, expecting a blow, or a kick to the ribs. But then she realized the movement was someone moving _away_ from her. Hesitantly blinking her eyes open, she looked in the direction of the mystery person. When she saw someone she barely recognized-Jay-scooting out from under the shelf she was laying under, she remembered the previous day's events.

Sighing heavily, Gabby looked up at the bottom of the shelf she was lying under. It was barely six or seven inches from her nose. It'd taken her a while to fall asleep the night before, due to the near-claustrophobic feeling.

"Hey," a hand lightly smacked her shoulder, "you getting up or what?"

Gabby looked out at Jay before scooting out from under the shelf. She awkwardly tugged on her tattered, red dress before standing up. Her back ached from lying on the hard floor, but she was used to that. Lying on a carpet-covered stone floor isn't much better than a hardwood floor.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Gabby asked, trying not to sound-or feel-awkward.

"Well, for starters, we're going to go into the marketplace and round up some breakfast." Jay told her, heading toward the front of the shop. Gabby fell in behind him as she listened. "Then I'll show you what you'll be doing around here."

"Okay."

So, they returned to the marketplace, which some might call "the scene of the crime". Jay gave Gabby some pointers on stealing, but she left it up to him so she didn't get them caught. He stole some moldy bread and rotting fruit, which he pulled out of his vest and hat when they were out of sight. Gabby was almost shocked when he passed some of the bread and apple to her, but she ate them without complaint. They took what was left back to the shop, where Jay gave the food to Jafar.

"Okay," Jay started, leading Gabby to a random part of the shop, "first off: taking care of the shop. I'm not sure how much my dad will let you do." he admitted. "First rule, do _not_ break anything. If you break something, and my dad can't sell it, he _will_ lose it."

Gabby nodded quickly. She'd seen her dad angry, she didn't want to see if Jafar was just as terrifying.

"You might help take care of the shop, once my dad warms up to the idea a bit. Then, you'll sweep the floor, dust things, whatever cleaning involves." Jay listed, giving the obvious impression he didn't do much cleaning. "You mentioned you can cook, so…what do you cook?" Jay asked.

Gabby shrugged. "I can cook with whatever you give me, really. I've gotten really good at cooking different kinds of meat because of my dad always bringing home what he hunted. My mom even taught me a few plants that're in the woods nearby that can be used in cooking."

Jay nodded slowly, his lanky arms crossed over his chest. "So, theoretically, I could bring home a random collection of foods and you could throw that together into an actual meal of sorts."

Gabby nodded her head to one side awkwardly while giving a slight shrug. "I suppose." she answered hesitantly.

Jay nodded. "Good to know."

*~0~*

Gabby glanced around the crowded market while also keeping an eye on Jay, who was a couple steps in front of her. She watched intently as he casually swiped a wallet from a man at one of the booths. He made it seem so easy.

In the couple days since she met Jay, they'd made regular trips into the market. She mostly left the stealing up to him, unless it was super easy and a sure thing. Even then she'd only successfully stolen a couple items.

The market was almost the same as the last time Gabby remembered being there. But that was years ago, when Gabby was about 7 or 8 years old shopping with her mother. Even then, it'd been terrifying seeing all the different people fighting and stealing and harassing each other. Gabby had stuck closely to her mother's side as they moved through the marketplace back then, but she didn't have that security anymore, and she probably never would.

So, she stuck to the next best thing. She wasn't naive enough to believe she could trust Jay; a true villain wouldn't have anyone's best interest but his own in mind. But he just spent a ton of money, or things he could've sold for money, to buy her. He would want to get his money's worth before getting rid of her. As long as she was useful to him, he'd keep her around. And that was the best thing she could hope for at this point.

Gabby saw Jay squeeze himself between two throngs of people in the marketplace, stealing something from someone's back pocket as he went. Gabby spotted a woman with a basket of food at the edge of the mass of people. So, when she squeezed through like Jay had, she snatched an old loaf of bread from the basket and stuffed it into the pocket of the worn black jacket she'd recently acquired.

She met back up with Jay at the far end of the marketplace.

"Alright, I think I've got plenty of stuff and food for one day. Let's get back to the shop. You can fix something up for dinner." Jay stated, turning and leading the way back toward Jafar's Junk Shop.

They gave Jafar the stuff they'd stolen for the shop, which made Jafar a tiny bit more welcoming toward Gabby, and Gabby gathered up all the food they'd stolen and threw together a simple meal. She fried a couple fish Jay had snatched, and made up sandwiches with the loaf of bread and moldy cheese, which she also fried in a sort of grilled cheese sandwich.

Later that night, Gabby and Jay were sitting on the floor in the corner of the shop by their shelf. Gabby was stitching some of Jay and Jafar's tattered clothes with a needle and thread, while Jay sat next to her, bent over a notebook.

Gabby glanced over at Jay after tying off the thread of the last piece of clothing in the pile. He was staring blankly down at the notebook, and Gabby guessed he hadn't actually written anything down for several minutes.

"What are you working on?" she asked hesitantly, slowly folding up the clothes and placing them in a careful stack.

Jay sighed harshly, running a hand through his long hair. "Just some homework for my Wickedness class."

"Why are you bothering to do the homework?" Gabby asked slowly, instinctively leaning away from him slightly in fear of him hitting her for her question.

Jay huffed a slight laugh. "Good question. Hey, why don't you do it?"

Gabby blinked at him, her eyes widening slightly as he handed her the notebook. He looked back with a slightly-daring expression, daring her to refuse. After all, she had to obey him.

"Um,…what if I get you a bad grade?" she asked hesitantly, looking down at the blank sheet of notebook paper.

Jay laughed. "You really think I care about that? An F would be brag-worthy. Just do the homework. I've got better things to do." With that, Jay laid back down on the stone floor, pushed his beanie down over his eyes, and put his hands behind his head. Gabby stared at him for a moment before looking down at the notebook to read the assignment.

*~0~*

In the couple months since being sold by her father, Gabby hadn't changed hardly at all. She wasn't terrified of getting beaten for being curious or misspeaking, but she was still insecure and shy. However, under Jay's guidance she'd become a fairly accomplished thief. She wasn't nearly as daring in her pickpocketing as Jay, but she wasn't half bad either.

It was about a couple hours short of noon, so her and Jay had split up in the marketplace to see what they could pilfer before Jay went to school. Given Gabby had never been enrolled in school by her parents, she didn't really see the point in starting now. She just settled for doing some of Jay's homework. She already knew most of the basic education, thanks to her mom. And she didn't have any interest in learning villain stuff in school.

Her sharp blue eyes scanned the masses of people moving through the marketplace, grabbing food or other things before they went to school or whatever jobs they might have. Her eyes caught a flash of gold.

There, sticking out of the pocket of a purple jacket, was what looked like the handle of a gold lamp. Maybe even…a magic lamp? She couldn't help feeling a flash of hope. If she could steal a magic lamp and bring it to Jafar, he might finally start treating her…well, he might stop treating her like dirt, at least.

Gabby took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax her muscles and be natural. She strolled down the lane toward the person in the purple jacket. She glanced over the person. It was a young girl like her, with short purple hair wearing purple and green clothes.

Gabby slowed as she neared the girl and carefully took hold of the handle sticking out of the girl's pocket. She held her breath as she started pulling the lamp out of the pocket, bracing herself to run.

But then another hand grabbed Gabby's wrist and suddenly, Gabby's whole front was pressed into a brick wall, her arm twisted around behind her back.

"You seriously thought you could get away with stealing from _me_?" an unfamiliar, cold, female voice hissed in her ear.

"I-I didn't-I wasn't-" Gabby stuttered fearfully.

"Alright, Mal, chill out." another voice cut in.

"Jay." the girl said in an unfriendly greeting.

"Mal." Jay returned, a smirk in his voice. "Mind letting go of my henchman?"

" _'Henchman'_?" Mal repeated incredulously, not letting go of Gabby's arm. "Since when do you have a henchman?"

"Since I bought her in the marketplace a couple months back." Jay answered easily.

"Well, she clearly has a lot to learn." Mal stated in disgust, finally releasing Gabby and stepping back. Gabby turned around slowly, holding her arm gingerly to her chest with her other hand as she eyed Mal nervously. She looked about Jay's age and had fair skin, dark purple hair, and poison green eyes, which were eyeing Gabby dubiously.

"So, you're Gaston's mystery kid, huh?" she finally stated.

Gabby swallowed. "Um, yeah, I guess that's me."

Mal looked over at Jay, then. "And you seriously paid money for her?"

Jay shrugged. "She's earning her way by helping out in the shop and cooking for me and Dad. Her fried fish is way better than Ursula's mystery dish. And she's a fast learner."

Mal sniffed, once again eyeing Gabby disdainfully. "Well, here's hoping you learned your lesson about stealing from me."

Gabby nodded frantically, her lips glued shut in fear. This girl emitted a threatening, commanding aura just by the way she held herself and stared you down. She was clearly someone not to be messed with.

"What were you trying to steal off her, anyway?" Jay asked curiously, leaning leisurely back against the wall Gabby had previously been pinned to.

Gabby glanced uncomfortably between Jay and Mal. "Um, that-that lamp or whatever sticking out of her pocket." she admitted quietly.

Mal pulled said lamp from her pocket and looked it over. Sure enough, it was an olden-day gold lamp, just like in the stories of magic genies. There were intricate designs on the round body of it, and it had a matching lid, though it was dirty and scuffed. Of course, that could be cleaned.

Jay eyed it greedily. "You've definitely got an eye." he told Gabby without looking away from it. "So, what do you say, Mal? Trade you?" With that, he pulled a gold bracelet from his pocket and held it up so that it swayed in front of Mal's eyes.

Mal eyed it for a second before shrugging. "Sure." And as easy as that, she traded the lamp for the necklace, which she stuffed in an inside pocket of her jacket.

Jay smirked down at Gabby as he stuffed the lamp inside his vest. She was barely refraining from gaping at him, but the amazement was clear in her blue eyes. "Lesson learned: from now on, leave Mal to me."

Gabby nodded quickly. "Okay."

"Well, I'm going to pick up lunch before class." Mal announced abruptly before walking away.

"Fun, isn't she?" Jay stated sarcastically.

*~0~*

Gabby carefully picked up the old, antique teapot and wiped some dust from it's porcelain surface before placing it back on the shelf. She glanced around the shop before moving on to the matching teacups sitting next to it.

The junk shop, while not busy, had a handful of people shopping around. Jafar was at the counter, his faithful parrot, Iago, perched on his shoulder while he accepted payment from a customer in exchange for a tattered tablecloth. Jay was stocking a nearby shelf with items he'd just returned with, obviously stolen from other people. Gabby had been cleaning the shop for over an hour so far. Overall it was a normal day, much the same as everyday since she'd come to live with Jay and Jafar over two months ago.

After making sure the tea set was clean, Gabby paused in her work to once again scan the customers in the shop. Her eyes landed on a particular customer. A young pirate, judging by the bandana on his head, tattered pirate's coat, and sword on his hip. He was glancing repeatedly over his shoulder, being very obvious in doing something he wasn't supposed to.

Gabby quickly turned back to where Jay had been stocking a shelf. She approached him and he looked down at her. Their eyes met for a second before Gabby glanced pointedly across the shop. Jay easily followed her gaze and spotted the problem. He nodded at Gabby before crossing the shop. Gabby stood by the shelf, watching inconspicuously.

Jay approached the young pirate, who was a boy no older than Jay or Gabby, and as the pirate started to put something gold and shiny in his pocket, Jay's hand grabbed his wrist. The pirate froze, and he and Jay stared at each other for a few moments before Jay leaned in and whispered something to the pirate. After several moments, the pirate nodded quickly. Gabby watched curiously as Jay lead the pirate over to the trinkets section of the shop. The pirate picked something, took it to the counter, paid for it, and left with no issues.

Gabby easily kept an amused smile off her face when Jay returned to the shelf she was still standing by.

"What was all that about?" she asked curiously.

"He was trying to steal an old pocket watch. Apparently he _lost_ his dad's." Jay explained, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I _convinced_ him to buy one instead. Even found one that looks exactly like his dad's. A dent in the same spot, and a chip in the glass just like his."

Gabby fought a small grin, as well. A good majority of Jafar's profits were due to people unknowingly buying back their own belongings after they're stolen by Jay. She'd seen it done many times since she moved into the shop.

"Congratulations on a sale." she commented lightly, turning back to the shelf and shifting a few of the newest items so they looked more organized.

"Why, thank you." Jay joked before moving over a couple feet, where he started pulling items from his pockets to place on the shelf.

*~0~*

Gabby's foot almost slipped out from under her on the slick pavement as she bolted around the corner of a building. She raced down the dark alley and ducked behind a dumpster, pulling a moldy old sheet over her head to hide. She held her breath, because her gasping was echoing obnoxiously loud in her ears and she really needed to be silent right now.

Multiple sets of pounding footsteps followed seconds later as her pursuers raced into the alley after her. Closing her eyes and holding her breath, Gabby desperately hoped they'd keep running.

The footsteps slowed just outside her hiding place, and Gabby felt sick.

"Where'd she go?" a boy demanded.

"Maybe she rounded one of the corners up ahead." a girl's voice answered, already racing past him. "Hurry, or we'll lose her!"

The other three people hurried after her, disappearing around the corner of the alley.

Only after a few seconds of silence did Gabby release her breath, collapsing back against the wall in relief and pulling the sheet off her head. However, the silence only lasted a few moments. Gabby paused and realized she heard something. There was a quiet rustling sound nearby. She turned her head slightly, hoping to hear it better. Then, she heard a quiet groaning sound and something soft brushed her hand on the ground.

Gabby lurched away, ending up on her butt a few feet away and staring toward the wall she'd just been leaning against. There on the ground, right by where she'd just been sitting, was a small, reddish shape hidden by the shadows. Creeping hesitantly back toward it, Gabby carefully lifted the sheet she'd been hiding under, getting rid of the shadow it cast.

On the ground was a small red parrot missing a good portion of it's feathers, leaving it's pink skin exposed. Gabby stared in horror, looking the bird over. It's ribs were sticking out and were rising and falling rapidly as the parrot gasped for breath. When she searched out the parrot's eyes, she realized they were wide and staring up at her with yellow pupils.

Having scooted closer to the animal in concern, Gabby realized through the rasping of it's breath, the parrot was actually talking.

"…Ga…Gab…Gab…"

Gabby's eyes went wide in recognition.

"Gingersnap!" she gasped, instantly scooting closer and scooping the parrot into her arms. "Oh no. I'm so sorry. I…" Gabby trailed off, at a loss for words.

Gingersnap was her brothers' parrot. When Gaston Jr. and Gaston the Third were seven years old, and Gil was six, they'd gone to a girl's birthday party. At the party, they were given a young parrot as part of their "baddie" bags; a villain's version of a goodie bag. They'd brought the parrot home, gave it some ridiculous name that Gabby couldn't even remember, and then basically ignored the poor animal unless they felt like playing with it. Gabby and her mom had been the ones to mainly take care of the parrot since then.

Since Gabby took care of the parrot so much, and she was home with her mom all day everyday, they'd formed a bond. Gabby had started calling her Gingersnap because she thought her brothers' name had been stupid. That, and the little parrot had an attitude. She frequently snapped her beak at the boys' fingers. Gabby didn't think anyone would find out about the name, until the bird started learning to talk. Since Gabby's mother had been secretly home schooling Gabby when no one else was home, Gingersnap had started picking up certain words and phrases and eventually decided she preferred the name Gingersnap to the stupid one the twins gave her. The boys never figured out why their bird refused to respond to the name they'd given her.

Looking down at the half-starved, clearly neglected parrot that she'd bonded with over the coarse of seven years, Gabby desperately wished she'd found a way to steal the bird from her family before this. She had no way of knowing if Gingersnap had escaped on her own, or if her brothers had gotten rid of her.

Cradling the parrot to her chest, Gabby kissed her beak. When she pulled back a couple inches, Gingersnap looked up at her with tired, yellow eyes. Her beak parted and cracked words came from her beak.

"Want…crackers…Want…water…"

Gabby nodded shakily. "Crackers and water." she repeated quietly. "Of course. Food. I'll-I'll get you some food. I promise."

Standing slowly, Gabby tucked Gingersnap into her jacket close to her chest, trying to keep her warm. She thought for a moment, unsure of where to go or what to do first. Then she remembered why those teenagers had been chasing her in the first place. She quickly sat back down on the ground cross-legged, set Gingersnap in the cradle of her lap, and pulled one of the apples she'd snatched from her pocket. She glanced between the apple and her bird, unsure how to give her the apple in her weakened state. She didn't have a knife to cut the fruit.

"Want apple?" Gabby asked simply.

"Want apple." Gingersnap croaked in affirmation. Gabby bit off a small piece of the apple and offered it to the bird. She snatched it up hungrily and gulped it down. She was croaking, "More," before Gabby had a chance to bite off another piece.

This continued until the apple was gone apart from its core. Figuring this could hold Gingersnap over for a bit, Gabby stood and used a back alley to hurry back to Jafar's Junk Shop. She only hoped she'd be allowed to keep her little companion. When she rushed into the store through the front door, she saw Jay at the front counter helping a customer. Jafar was probably asleep or counting his gold in the back.

Jay looked up when she entered and the customer turned to leave. "Hey, where've you been? We were supposed to be back here half an hour ago. Did you get anything?"

"Oh, um," Gabby shifted Gingersnap into one arm under her jacket and began searching her pockets. "I'm late because some people were giving me problems. I've got…" she trailed off as she approached the counter. She pulled out everything she'd stolen, including the remaining food in her pockets, but when she looked up she noticed Jay wasn't paying attention to that.

"What's that?" he asked, staring at the lump in her jacket.

Gabby blushed bright red. "Uuuhhh…" she trailed off, hesitantly shifting Gingersnap so Jay could see her. "She's mine." she explained quietly, afraid to meet Jay's eyes. "Well, technically my brothers'. They got her at a birthday party years ago, but they never bothered with her. I took care of her, obviously until…I came here. I just found her in an alley. She's half-starved. I just…please let me keep her." she pleaded quietly, finally looking up at Jay.

He was staring thoughtfully at the little bird in her arms. Well, she wasn't too little. She was fully grown and about the same size as Jafar's parrot Iago.

"She's one of Iago's kids." Jay announced, tilting his head slightly. "There were a couple chicks; we gave them in "baddie" bags at a birthday party. I forgot the Gaston twins got one." He stepped around the counter and Gabby turned toward him. He stopped in front of her and reached out to scratch a finger over the parrot's head. She blinked her big, yellow eyes up at him.

"What's her name?" Jay asked curiously, still looking down at her.

Before Gabby could answer, Gingersnap answered for herself, "Gingersnap."

Jay's eyes widened slightly before he laughed. "Wow. You-Did you teach her to talk?" he asked, looking at Gabby.

She grinned sheepishly. "Possibly. Well, me and my mom. I guess you could say Gingersnap was my only classmate."

Jay chuckled, looking back down at Gingersnap. "You weren't kidding." he noted, looking the half-bald bird over. "She's way skinnier than Iago. She probably hasn't had a decent amount of food in weeks."

Gabby nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I know I need to make dinner, so I can get started on that once I get her some food and water, and-"

"Go into the kitchen. I left some of the food in there so you can get started on dinner. You can fill a cup with water for her in there. I'll sneak in some of Iago's crackers in a moment."

Gabby nodded slowly, staring up at Jay with wide, shocked eyes. When she didn't move right away, Jay rolled his eyes and gently pushed her around the counter toward the kitchen.

"Don't overthink it." Jay ordered simply.

*~0~*

"Well, that was pitiful." Gabby noted as her and Jay returned to the Junk Shop.

"Well, it's hard to steal when there aren't many people to steal from." Jay pointed out, yanking the door shut behind him against the biting wind. "It's too cold to be outside. Everyone's at home where it's warmer."

Gabby nodded in agreement, blowing on her cupped hands in an attempt to warm up. She was wearing ripped black skinny jeans that weren't exactly warm, and a red leather jacket. Jay had swapped his sleeveless leather vest for a thick, red and blue leather jacket. They'd gone out multiple times that day, once before Jay went to school, once after school, and just now after dinner. Despite being out for almost four hours trying to find things to steal or people to steal them from, they'd only been able to steal enough food for lunch and dinner for themselves and Jafar, as well as a handful of items for Jafar to sell. A long day with little to show for their efforts.

"Jay!" Jafar's voice echoed loudly through the shop, but it sounded off. Jay and Gabby turned to stare as Jafar stumbled into the room. This Jafar looked very different from the one Gabby was used to. His cheeks were flushed, his hair was messy, and his turban was missing. In one hand was a long-necked bottle half-full of amber-colored liquid.

Gabby felt Jay stiffen next to her and looked up at him. His dark eyes were watching his father warily, as if he were an unstable animal.

"Hey, Pop. What's up?" Jay asked casually, though he continued to keep a close eye on the obviously-drunk man.

"Where's the day's haul?" Jafar demanded, bumping into the wall and grabbing the counter to keep from falling over.

Jay's elbow bumped Gabby's as he began to slowly pull things from his pockets and jacket. Gabby did the same, pulling a couple items from her jacket and jeans. She passed them to Jay and he approached the counter, laying the items out on the surface. Jafar lurched toward him, making Gabby flinch slightly, but he merely looked down at the items as Jay slowly backed away again.

"This it?" Jafar asked, his words slurring slightly.

"Yeah. There aren't many people out today. Too cold." Jay answered simply.

"LIAR!" Jafar boomed, whipping around. He stumbled slightly, as if dizzy, before lurching forward and grasping the collar of Jay's jacket. He held up the bottle of liquor in his other hand. "The boatsss came in today!" he slurred. "Mullins was just in 'ere. Traded me two whole bottles a' liquor for an old dagger an' pistol."

"That's great, Pop." Jay responded casually, probably to avoid angering his father further. "We'll do better tomorrow. Bring in a lot of loot."

"You're a failure of a son!" Jafar screamed in Jay's face. "I shoulda' left ya in the drain! Can't even make me rich! Why do I keep ya 'round?" With that, Jafar swung the bottle at his son. Jay blocked it with his forearm and pushed Jafar away from him. The pudgy old man stumbled back into the counter.

"Go to bed, Dad." Jay ordered calmly. "Before you hurt yourself."

Jafar growled, stumbling upright and coming at Jay again. He swung the bottle back and forth and this time managed to hit Jay on the head with it. Luckily, it didn't look like the hit was very hard, since Jay had tried to duck it. Jay grabbed the bottle and sent it crashing to the floor, where it shattered in a million pieces in a puddle of amber liquid. Jay then put Jafar in a chokehold, the inside of his elbow pressing on Jafar's throat.

Jafar struggled weakly before passing out. Jay carefully lowered him to the floor. "Help me out." he called to Gabby, who had been watching the whole thing frozen by the front door. She hadn't even noticed when Gingersnap had landed on her shoulder, her sharp talons pricking her shirt. Jay's voice snapped her out of her daze, and she hurried to his side. Together, they gently pulled Jafar across the floor until he was hidden behind the counter. "He can sleep there." Jay announced, standing up straight and brushing his hands together as if wiping dust off them.

Gabby watched as Jay crossed the shop, heading toward their corner. He was acting so casual, as if this was normal.

"You comin' or not?" Jay called, spurring Gabby into action. She hurried after him and approached the shelf they both still slept under as he was lowering himself to the ground. When she caught a look at his face, she paused. There was a line of crimson trickling down from his hairline.

"You're bleeding." Gabby pointed out hesitantly.

Jay looked up at her, then swiped a hand over his head. When he looked down at the red on his fingers, he said, "Huh. He actually got me."

Gabby blinked at him, her brows raised. She hesitated for another moment, glancing around at her surroundings. Turning away, she hurried back to where they'd lay Jafar to sleep. She crouched by him and ripped a piece of fabric from his black and red robes. She then hurried back to the shelf and knelt next to Jay. She extended her hand toward his head, but paused, hesitated, and retracted her hand.

"Um, here. Put this on your wound. Put pressure on where the blood's coming out." she told him quietly.

Jay stared at her for a moment before taking the cloth and doing what she said, holding it to his forehead.

Feeling her job was done, Gabby put her hand near her shoulder, silently urging Gingersnap onto her hand. She then lifted her hand so that the bird could perch on one of the shelves. Since rescuing her a couple weeks ago, Gingersnap improved phenomenally. It didn't take her long to get back to a healthy weight, and she picked up on life in the junk shop rather quick. She knew not to break anything, and she'd stopped someone trying to steal from the shop just the other day. She'd swooped in on the guy and nipped him with her razor-sharp beak before flying the object to Gabby. Jay threw the guy out in two seconds flat. Jay had suggested to Gabby multiple times that they train Gingersnap to somehow help them steal.

Gabby scooted under the shelf and laid down on her back, looking up at the bottom of the rickety shelf. A moment later, Jay joined her, also laying on his back under the shelf. He held the cloth to his head with one hand, his opposite shoulder pressed to hers.

"That happen a lot?" Gabby asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"Enough. I try to keep booze away from him, because obviously you just saw how he gets when he's drunk."

Gabby nodded in understanding. "My dad gets the same way. One time he threw one of the twins into Gil so hard they bashed their heads together and were knocked unconscious for several hours."

Jay nodded once. "Good thing alcohol making it to the Isle doesn't happen often. When it does, usually the goblins get 'hold of it."

Gabby nodded in agreement and they fell silent again, waiting to drift asleep. Considering how much time the two had spent together in the several months since that fateful day in the marketplace, they'd formed a sort of bond, though neither would ever admit such a thing. They were starting to understand each other in a way no one had before.

But again, they'd _never_ admit it.

 **AN: Well, there's Gabby's first year living with Jay and Jafar. Let me know what you all thought. Chapter 3 will be 2013**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch 3: (2013)**

Gabby peaked around a giant, wood barrel, her eyes sweeping over the crowded docks where some rickety old boats and rafts were pulling in. Just past the docks stretched an open sea, which went far past the barely-visible barrier. Miles in the distance, the mainland of Auradon was visible through the almost liquid-looking barrier.

The Goblin Wharf was where boats came from Auradon, bringing with them garbage and things for the people of the Isle to live off of.

Gabby took a deep breath before creeping down the rocky shore towards the docks, using everything she could for cover. Most of the Goblins had swarmed the first boat to dock, leaving the second one, which was almost on the opposite side of the docks, wide open for pilfering.

Glancing once more at the Goblins, Gabby scrambled onto the dock and carefully stepped into the small raft, being careful not to fall while staying as low as she could to avoid being seen. Once aboard, she began searching through the crates and piles of random objects to see if she could find anything useful or valuable.

After a few short minutes, she found some clothes, including a red leather skirt that only needed some patching up. She found some things Jay or Jafar might wear. She also found some things to sell at the shop, like silverware and dishes, some jewelry, and an antique candlestick. Stuffing it all in a small backpack, which she slipped onto her shoulders, Gabby glanced around to ensure the coast was clear then leapt off the boat and raced away from the docks. She didn't slow down until she neared the main part of the Isle where buildings and houses loomed around her.

There weren't many other people around, considering most were either in school, at work, or just lazing about. After all, no one really did anything on time on the Isle. Jay was at school, leaving Gabby to either take care of the shop with Jafar, or "collect" items to sell at the shop.

Gabby cut through a maze of alleys, heading toward the Junk Shop without being bothered by many people. However, when she rounded the corner of one of the many buildings into another alley, she paused, hesitating when she saw a couple guys halfway down the alley talking. She recognized them, though she could only put a name to one.

Taking a deep breath, Gabby forced her muscles to relax as she continued down the alley. She tried not to look or act like she was carrying anything valuable, but it was difficult. She avoided looking at the boys as she neared them.

She was almost past them; she was almost in the clear-

-when an arm suddenly appeared in front of her, the connecting hand resting flat against the opposite wall.

"Well, hello there." a boy's voice, heavy with some accent she couldn't name, spoke near her ear. Gabby tensed, her body going rigid as she felt herself being surrounded.

"I'm just passing through." she forced herself to say, but her voice was quiet and weak, which only prompted a couple different voices to laugh.

"Oh, my apologies." Harry Hook mocked, moving so that he stood right in front of her, his hand still braced on the wall. His other hand was not really a hand. It was a metal hook, which he placed on his chest as if his statement was heartfelt. He was wearing a worn, red pirate coat, his brown hair messy. At about the same age as Jay, Gabby guessed he was about 14 or 15 years old.

"Now, what's a lovely young bird like yourself doin' wandering these alleys alone?" Harry continued to mock, tilting his head as he stepped a bit closer into her personal space. Gabby tried to step away, only to bump into the other boy behind her.

"Going home." she muttered quietly, her eyes downcast.

"And where is home for you?" Harry asked. "Oh, that's right. You're Jay's little _pet_." he continued mockingly, giving Gabby the impression that he'd already known who she was the moment he stopped her. "And how is that going for you? Is Jay taking good care of you?" he continued with his mocking, making Gabby swallow a lump in her throat.

"Leave me alone." she muttered, trying to muster up some courage. But it was hard. She was outnumbered and surrounded by two boys who could easily beat her into submission, just like her father used to.

"Now, there's no call for rudeness." Harry joked, looking amused with her attempt at talking back. After all, this was the Isle of the Lost. There was _always_ call for rudeness.

"Sh-shouldn't you be in school?" Gabby tried to snap, but it lost the affect when she stuttered over her words. It just made Harry and his friend laugh. Then, a cold, sharp point pressed under Gabby's chin, Harry's hook pushing her face up to look into his ice blue eyes.

"I'd ask you the same, but everyone knows you don't go to school." he whispered, his face mere inches from hers. "Now, why don't you tell us what's in the bag?"

The backpack Gabby was carrying suddenly felt like a hundred pounds. Sure, there was nothing in it that she'd take a beating to keep, but it was still stuff she'd stolen herself, not for these jerks, but for Jay and Jafar to sell or use.

"Nothing you'd want." Gabby tried to sound confident, though her voice was still quiet and she couldn't maintain eye contact. "A girl's jacket and a broken teapot. Nothing of any real value."

She could feel the burn of Harry's eyes as he stared at her, probably scrutinizing her expression to detect any lies.

"Grab her bag." he ordered his other friend.

Gabby felt someone yank at her backpack and instinctively turned and tried to smack at the boy, but Harry grabbed one of her wrists. Together, the two boys shoved her against the wall, Harry holding her in place while the other boy ripped the backpack off her arms. Gabby tried to struggle free, but then Harry slammed his elbow into her gut, knocking the air out of her. She hunched over, gasping for breath while Harry kept her pinned to the wall.

"Well, Harry, this sure looks like more than just a jacket and teapot." the unnamed boy spoke up, tilting the bag toward Harry to see.

"You're right, Jonas. It certainly does." Harry agreed, looking down at Gabby with a smirk. She was still gasping for breath, keeping her head lowered. "Lying to us. That's a bad move, pet." he mocked, using the side of his hook to tilt her chin up again. She tried to cower away from him, but the wall behind her wouldn't allow for much wiggle room.

"Okay, fine, I lied." she agreed frantically, trying to wiggle free. "You can keep it, just let me go."

"Now where's the fun in that?" Harry asked with a smirk. "You know how you could make it up to me?" When Gabby didn't answer, Harry leaned in until his hot, fishy breath washed over Gabby's face. "Leave Jay. Leave him and that pathetic Junk Shop. I've been starting a little crew of my own recently, and you would be a _lovely_ addition." he explained, letting the tip of his hook trail lightly down her cheek. Gabby trembled with terror, a shiver running up her spine. "What do you say, pet?"

Gabby swallowed a lump in her throat. She wanted to say no. But if she just said no, they'd beat her up or something. Villains didn't just take no for an answer. She glanced around, hoping for an idea on now to escape.

"Why me?" she asked hoarsely, hoping to buy time.

Harry shrugged one shoulder casually. "Plenty of benefits, really. I'd be taking something from Jay, which would put him at a disadvantage. And it would certainly benefit me. And you'd owe me, getting you away from Jay." he added smoothly, once more stepping into her personal space. Gabby felt sick.

"Why would I want to get away from Jay?" she asked warily, trying not to give away how scared she was.

Harry laughed, but it put her more on edge.

"There's safety in numbers around here, pet." Harry informed her. "We may not have friends, but it pays to have partners, sidekicks, even gangs. Like I said, I've been forming my own little pirate crew. It would offer you more protection and benefits. Right now you've only got Jay, which certainly hasn't given you much safety considering where you are right now."

Gabby swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the sense in his argument. After all, he was probably pulling most of these arguments out of his backside. And she already owed Jay, considering he actually owned her and all. She didn't want to owe someone like Harry Hook, whom she knew next to nothing about. She didn't even want to imagine what he'd make her do to pay him back. She would never feel safe around Harry and his crew.

"I can't." she stated slowly. "Jay literally owns me. He bought me from my father. I can't just leave him."

Harry scoffed. "Like villains worry about ownership?"

Gabby didn't have to think about another argument, because a door banged open nearby. They all turned and looked as a scraggly old man looked out a door of one of the buildings they were standing between.

"What's goin' on out here?" he demanded in a grouchy voice.

With Harry and his companion distracted, Gabby ducked under Harry's arm and raced off down the alley. She heard Harry yell something, but she just kept running and didn't look back. And she didn't stop running until she entered the Junk Shop and hid under her shelf. She knew it was cowardly, but she hoped Harry wouldn't dare enter Jafar's Junk Shop, or at least wouldn't know where to find her if he did. At least until Jay got out of school.

When Gabby arrived, Gingersnap fluttered down to the floor and waddled under the shelf until she snuggled up in the crook of Gabby's neck.

"Hurt?" she quietly squawked.

Gabby reached up a hand to scratch the parrot's head. "No. I'm okay, girl."

Gabby wasn't sure how long she laid on the floor under the shelf. No one bothered her, or even knew she was there, until Jay returned sometime later and looked down at her from next to the shelf.

"Score anything?" he asked casually, as he frequently did when he returned from school.

Gabby's breath caught in her throat. Her score. Harry had taken it. Feeling sick, Gabby slowly scooted out from under the shelf and forced herself to stand up. She could feel Jay staring at her expectantly, but she couldn't meet his eyes.

"I-I didn't grab anything. I mean,…I _did_ , but…" she trailed off, feeling sick with shame.

"You lost it." Jay guessed.

Gabby nodded, her eyes fixed on her black shoes. "Harry Hook stole it from me."

Jay snorted. "Of course he did."

Gabby closed her eyes and waited. For what, she wasn't sure. Probably for him to lash out at her.

Then, things were shoved into her hands. She flinched, but managed to keep all the things in her arms. There was a book, a notebook, and multiple kinds of food.

"Here. Make dinner. Do my homework. I'll head back out and see if I can score enough to keep Dad happy." Jay ordered, already walking away again.

Gabby stared after him, watching as he walked back out the front door and disappeared around the corner.

She'd only been half honest with Harry Hook earlier. She couldn't leave Jay because he owned her, that much was true. But it was more complicated than that. They may not be friends, or equal partners, or even really a villain and his henchman. She almost felt safe with him. He could hit her or beat her or anything at anytime, and she wouldn't be able to leave. But he didn't. He never had in almost a year of him owning her. Even now, when he was obviously frustrated that she'd lost everything she'd stolen that day, he still didn't physically lash out at her.

It may not be an Auradon-like life, but it was certainly better than what she had with her father and brothers.

*~0~*

Gabby picked up a bruised apple, eyeing it for a moment before putting it back on the pile. She moved down the row to look at the bruised or moldy vegetables. She picked a couple of the least-moldy ears of corn. She handed the vendor a couple gold coins and put the corn in her jacket pockets. It felt good, the rare occasions she could actually _buy_ things instead of steal them. Of course, it was with coins she'd stolen, but that was besides the point.

"Get out, you little rat!" a woman shrieked, causing Gabby to jump. Her head snapped to the side as an older woman chased a boy from her shop. The short, young boy tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. He cowered and put his hands over his head as the woman beat him a few times with an old broom before going back into her shop, slamming the door behind her. No one bothered to help the boy or give him more than a glance as they went about their business.

Gabby watched the young boy curiously. He was dressed in red, black, and white clothes, which were now rumpled and dusty from his little tumble. His hair was white with dark roots. He looked about a year younger than Gabby, who was 13 years old, but that could just be his young, almost innocent appearance.

Glancing around, Gabby found her curiosity couldn't be stifled. She slowly approached the boy, who was sitting on the ground, dusting his legs off. When Gabby's shadow fell over him, his flinched away from her and looked nervously up toward her face.

Gabby hesitated before offering her hand to him. He stared blankly at her, clearly having no clue what she was doing. "Do you need help up?" she asked quietly.

The boy hesitated before slowly taking her offered hand, and she pulled him to his feet. His face, which was spattered with freckles, was bright red, probably with a blush.

"I'm Gabby." she told him, unsure what she was doing. She was used to being the person flinching away, fearing the other person hurting her. She wasn't used to someone flinching from her. She was basically harmless compared to others on the Isle, apart from being a couple inches taller than him. Maybe she wasn't scared of this boy because she could see herself in him. Maybe he went through the same things as her.

He eyed her, both nervous and curious, probably about how friendly she was being and expecting her to hurt or prank him. "Carlos." he finally returned.

"Why'd that lady throw you out?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Carlos shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, glancing around nervously. "I, uh, was trying to steal something. I've never been very good at that."

Gabby watched him for a moment, noting how tense and nervous he looked. "What were you trying to steal?" she asked quietly, glancing toward the shop he'd just been in.

Carlos also glanced toward the shop. "Um, just a screwdriver and a few old wires."

Gabby looked back at him, completely confused. "What do you need those for?"

Carlos studied his shoes. "I need them for…an invention."

Gabby looked at him for a moment. She wasn't sure why, but she felt the urge to help this boy. She had no reason to; no loyalty or bond or trust. There was no reason for her to help him. But she wanted to. Maybe it was because she could almost see herself in him. She wasn't sure, but she knew she needed to.

"So, just any old screwdriver and a few wires. That's it? No specifics or anything else?" she checked, looking back at him.

He looked up at her, completely confused. "Yeah, that's it. Why?"

Gabby chewed her lip for a moment, glancing between him and the shop. Finally, she looked him in the eyes-which were brown-and said, "Stay here."

Not waiting to see if he obeyed, she casually entered the shop. She glanced around casually, looking as if she was browsing when in reality she was getting a feel for her environment; checking out the store owner, the location of the exit, and the products.

She found a decent screwdriver and stuffed it in her pocket, knowing the tall shelf protected her from the shop owner's view. Moving down a couple rows, she finally found a box that had many old, worn, ripped, or tattered electric wires. She scanned them and grabbed a handful that looked to be in the best condition. She stuffed those in her back pants pocket. After a casual glance around the shop, she approached the front desk where the shop owner was keeping an eye on her.

"I don't suppose you have any light bulbs that work?" she asked nervously.

The lady snorted at her. "As if. If you're not buyin', get lost."

Gabby nodded and hurried from the shop. She glanced around, not seeing Carlos anywhere. Then, she saw his white hair as he peaked out of a nearby alley. She met his eyes and approached him, entering the alley. She pulled first the screwdriver and then the wires from her pockets, handing them to him. He stared down at them in amazement before looking up at her.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked curiously. "Wait-am I going to owe you for these?" he asked abruptly, holding the items out in his hands as if suddenly hesitant to accept them.

Gabby shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I have no need for those, and stealing them was nothing, really. We can just pretend this never happened."

Carlos looked between her and his hands-which held the items she stole for him-for several seconds. Finally, he met her eyes and smiled slightly. "Okay. So,…I'll see you around?"

"Sure."

It wasn't a thank you, but it was the closest you could get on the Isle of the Lost.

 **AN: The next chapter will also be set in 2013, but that would have made the chapter twice as long, so I split it here. Let me know what you all thought of this chapter! Reviews help me more than you can imagine! Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch 4: (Still 2013)**

Gabby peaked out of a shaded alley, watching warily as Jay and Mal joked around. She wasn't sure what to think of their recent…whatever it was. It wasn't really a partnership, and it certainly wasn't a friendship. But it was…interesting.

It'd been about a year since her first run-in with Mal when she tried and failed to steal from her. Since then she'd been seeing more of Mal, and not just around the Isle. Her and Jay sort of hung out once in a while. Nothing too weird, really. They mostly just competed to see who was the better thief. Gabby might be biased to say that Jay was the best, but even she had to admit that Mal was an accomplished thief as well.

Gabby stepped back into the shadows of the alley when some cackling young witches walked by. Gabby stealthily reached out a hand and picked a mysterious vial off one of the girls' belt. She returned completely to the shadows before they spotted her and looked down to examine what she'd snatched.

It was a small vial of a light purple liquid. Probably some random potion the witches had made. It could fetch a pretty penny. Stuffing it into an inside pocket in her red leather jacket, Gabby peaked out of the alley again. Jay was looking around the market, probably scanning the market for any food to steal.

A quick glance around the area, and Gabby ventured from the alley and crossed the marketplace. She stopped at Jay's shoulder, her eyes dancing over the dull rainbow of moldy produce.

"Preference for dinner?" she asked, her eyes not leaving the food.

Jay hummed thoughtfully, picking up an apple, tossing it in the air and catching it once before putting it back. "Something sweet on the side. Don't care much about the rest."

Gabby narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as her eyes landed on the apples. "We still have that jar of honey at home?" The recipe she was thinking of required sugar and lots of sweet things, but those kinds of things weren't on the Isle of the Lost. The closest things were natural things people could find by accident, like maple syrup in maple trees, or honey from bee hives. Even then, very few people knew how to find those things.

Jay thought for a moment. "I think so."

"Get me a loaf of bread." Gabby decided, swiping a lemon off the produce as she turned toward him. "I'll get some apples. I'll try and make an Apple Brown Betty. My mom made it a couple times when I was younger, and taught me how to do it."

Jay shrugged easily. "Sure. I'll get the bread and we can head home."

Gabby nodded and moved around him, casually swiping a few apples and stuffing them anywhere she could in her clothes where no one would notice them. She turned away from the produce and started to head back toward Jafar's Junk Shop, when something hooked around her ankle and she went flying.

In a blink, the dirty ground flew toward Gabby's face and she closed her eyes, putting her hands out to stop her fall. Her palms hit the hard pavement, sending a jolting pain up her arms, but it wasn't enough to stop her fall. Her stomach and chest splashed in a muddy puddle that smelled like a sewer, and her knees hit the pavement.

When she blinked her eyes open, she saw her apples and the lemon rolling away from her across the pavement. Laughter echoed in her ears, but one laugh stood out. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw several people pointing and laughing, though they mostly continued on their business. One person, however, was practically standing over Gabby, clearly the person who'd purposefully tripped her.

Mal.

Gabby looked at the ground and rolled her eyes. Pushing herself up, she winced at the throbbing in her arms until she was sitting up on her knees.

"I think you lost some stuff." Mal mocked her as she walked by, kicking one of the apples so it rolled out of sight.

Gabby gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath and slowly standing up. She wiped her palms together and tried to wipe some of the muddy water from her clothes. Turning around, she looked up and saw Jay watching her, not even hiding the fact that he was one of the people laughing.

Gabby swallowed the lump in her throat and turned around to start picking up her apples. After all, she shouldn't take it personally. This was the Isle. Everyone laughed at and picked on everyone. People even bullied their own partners and gang members. This wasn't even the first time Jay had picked on or laughed at her. Jay and Mal were always picking on her, but she just told herself it was all in good fun. They'd never really threatened or harmed her, so they were much better than people like Harry Hook or Gabby's own father.

Gabby stooped to pick up all the things her little "trip" had sent rolling, and headed toward the Junk Shop, planning to get started on dinner.

*~0~*

Gabby's leg was bouncing anxiously, her back leaning against the rough brick wall behind her. Her red top, black leggings, and brown knee-high boots were well-hidden in the shadows of the alley.

Her light blue eyes flashed up when she caught sight of something red and white. She relaxed against the wall when Carlos De Vil slipped into the narrow alley and leaned against the opposite wall right across from her. He glanced nervously out of the alley before looking back at her.

"So? You got it?" he asked quietly.

Gabby nodded. "You?" Carlos nodded in return. Gabby leaned down to open her backpack. It took a bit of yanking and wrestling, but Gabby finally managed to pull a pillow from her backpack. It was a bit shabby, considering she made it out of an old t-shirt she'd found on a boat and stuffed it with spare fabrics and feathers.

"It's not my best work, but…Here." she said, passing the pillow over to Carlos. He grinned widely as he took it, looking down at it as if it was the most precious gift he'd ever received.

Keeping the pillow tucked under one arm, Carlos reached into his jacket. He pulled out an old, beat-up looking laptop.

"Here. I finished it a couple days ago. I've checked it out, it works fine. There's a crack in the corner of the screen, but other than that it's good." Carlos explained as he handed it to Gabby. She looked it over, noting the several dents, scratches, and dings adorning the top and bottom. She opened it to look at the screen and keyboard. Sure enough, there was a crack in the corner of the screen and a couple keys were missing from the keyboard.

"It's perfect." Gabby smiled, looking back up at Carlos as she closed the laptop again. Some might argue having a working computer or laptop was pointless, seeing as they got no Wifi on the Isle of the Lost, but it could still come in handy. If nothing else, there might be some music or games saved on it from the previous owners or something. "Pleasure doing business with you." she joked.

"Same to you." Carlos returned with a slight laugh, almost hugging his new pillow to his chest. He'd made an offhand comment to Gabby once about his living situation; he basically lived in his mother's dressing room, sleeping on a lumpy mattress on the floor. He'd never even had a pillow, so Gabby offered a trade. She'd make him a pillow if he could get her something in return. She really wasn't picky about what he offered in exchange. Sure, she probably _should_ have chosen something that Jafar could sell; if he ever found out she hadn't she was done for. But instead, Carlos offered to fix up a laptop for her to use and she jumped at the chance.

"Well, I should get going. I need to get dinner for Jay and Jafar." Gabby announced, stepping towards the entrance to the alley. "Good luck on that Weird Science project."

Carlos nodded with a smile, since villains certainly don't say "thank you". With that, the two departed in opposite directions; Carlos heading for his home in Hell Hall, and Gabby heading for the marketplace after stuffing her new laptop into her backpack.

She was wandering the market, scanning the foods for dinner ideas, when she was yanked to a stop.

"Ah, my favorite little pet." Harry's mocking voice spoke in her ear, his grip on her backpack pulling her to a stop.

"Let go of me." she ordered, trying to pull herself free of his grip.

"Ah, ah, ah. Not yet." Harry told her, pulling her backpack off her shoulders. Gabby stumbled when her backpack was no longer attached to her shoulders. She turned around to see Harry open her backpack. For once, he was alone without his little gang of pirates.

Gabby lurched forward and tried to wrestle the backpack from his grasp. "Give that back!" she ordered frantically.

Harry easily pulled it from her, holding it above her head. Gabby tried to reach it, but he was taller than her and was dangling the backpack from his stupid hook. She was tempted to jump for it, but didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than necessary.

"Give that back." she pleaded, looking between the backpack and his face. He was smirking arrogantly at her.

"Oh, well, because you asked." Harry mocked, lowering the backpack. Gabby tried to grab it, but he pulled it out of reach again. "If you want it back so bad, why don't you reconsider my offer?"

Gabby gritted her teeth, trying not to glare at him. "Why do you want me to join your crew so bad? I obviously have nothing to offer." she pointed out, waving a hand toward her backpack.

"I disagree." Harry countered, still with a smirk as he gave her a once over. It made her skin crawl. "I think you have _plenty_ to offer. And not just that body of yours." Gabby grimaced in disgust, instinctively taking a step back. "You probably have plenty of useful information on Jay. Information that could benefit me."

"No, I don't." Gabby lied. "Jay doesn't just tell me things."

"Ah, but living together the way you do…surely you must know something. Have you considered…being a spy? Working with me secretly while gathering info on Jay from the inside?"

"Never." Gabby declared. "Now, give me my bag."

Harry eyed her for a moment. "What's so special in this bag?"

Gabby swallowed nervously. "Nothing, I just want it back."

"You really should brush up on your lying skills, pet." Harry smirked, lowering the bag to look inside it. Gabby grabbed it and tried to yank it from his grasp, but then she felt a hand grab her arm. Her vision whirled and suddenly her back was pressed against a brick wall. She blinked and pressed into the wall when she saw Harry's face staring down at hers.

"Let me go." she tried to sound strong, but it came out as a whimper.

"I don't think so." Harry whispered, trailing the tip of his hook down her cheek. Gabby turned her head away, closing her eyes and hoping he'd just let her go. She waited a moment before trying to yank her arm free. She struggled for a few seconds before Harry let go of her arm only to slam his fist into her gut.

The air was forced from her lungs and she hunched over, gasping for breath. Harry stepped back, seeing as she wasn't going anywhere. She coughed and gasped, unable to do anything. She tried to stumble away, but Harry shoved her back against the wall, grabbing her shoulder in a painful grip.

She looked up at him fearfully, knowing there was no way for her to escape. She couldn't possibly fight him. He was bigger, stronger, and relentless. She was already overpowered, she could never defend herself.

Harry raised his hook, to do what, Gabby wasn't sure. Then, a familiar, tan-skinned hand covered in a black, fingerless glove shot out and grabbed Harry's wrist.

Gabby and Harry both looked over at Jay, who was glaring coolly at the young pirate.

"I'd prefer you not injure my henchman too badly. She's still got some use in her." Jay told Harry calmly. When Harry didn't move, Jay added, "That's your cue to let her go and get lost, Hook."

Harry narrowed his eyes at Jay for a moment before slowly releasing his grip on Gabby's shoulder. She winced and lifted her hand to hold it, as it ached. Harry started to leave, but Jay didn't release his wrist.

"Hand over the bag. Pretty sure it's hers."

Harry glared at Jay for a moment. In a flash, he dropped the bag and swung his fist at Jay. Jay managed to block it and throw a punch to Harry's jaw. The pirate stumbled back before slashing his hook at Jay. The thief ducked backward to avoid it before swinging his leg out against the backs of Harry's legs. They buckled under him and he stumbled. Jay took the moment to punch him in the cheek.

"Get lost before I take another swing." Jay threatened while Gabby snatched up her bag and held it to her chest. She trembled against the wall as she watched Harry closely. Slowly, as if not wanting to walk away from the fight, Harry backed away before turning and disappearing around the corner of the alley.

Gabby finally released a breath in relief, slouching her shoulders as the tension left her body.

"You just can't help it, can you?" Jay snapped. Gabby looked over to see that he was glaring at her.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"You don't even fight back." Jay snapped. "You just stand there and take it. You can't do that on the Isle. You should know that by now. You were sheltered with your dad, but you're not anymore. I watched Harry confront you for a few minutes before I stepped in, just waiting for you to fight back, to try and escape. _Something_. But you just stood there and waited for him to hurt you."

Gabby flinched. "I-I couldn't fight him. Look at him! He's bigger and stronger than me. What do you expect me to do?"

"Anything but just standing there." Jay snapped. "Sure, you're smaller, but he's not a genius. Outsmart him. You're not an idiot, I know that, so don't act like one. I can't keep stepping in and helping you. Help yourself."

With that, Jay turned and walked away, probably to continue stealing things for the shop.

Gabby stayed where she was, trying to compose herself. After all, she couldn't cry. This was the Isle. Crying was a sign of weakness.

But maybe she was already weak. Jay was right. She couldn't just stand there and let it happen. She couldn't continue to let people like Harry Hook push her around. She needed to learn how to defend herself.

She just wasn't sure how.

*~0~*

Gabby unlocked the several locks on the shop door before slipping inside out of the light drizzle outside. She closed the door and relocked every single lock. One time she'd missed a lock and Jafar's rampage had quickly taught her a lesson she would never forget.

"Jay!"

Gabby froze. That was Jafar's voice, but it sounded off. A familiar kind of 'off', though.

Gingersnap swooped through the shop just then and landed on Gabby's shoulder. "Booze." she whispered in Gabby's ear. "Booze."

Gabby gulped slightly, reaching up to pet the bird's head. Gingersnap had started using that word in reference to Jafar's drinking, probably having heard Jay use the term.

Sure enough, Jafar stumbled into the main part of the shop, steadying himself on the shop's counter.

"Where'sss Jay?" he slurred, obviously drunk.

Gabby swallowed nervously. "Um, he's not here yet. He should be back soon."

"Then why're you here?" Jafar demanded, his words slurring together.

"Um,…I just got back." Gabby answered slowly, unsure how to answer without making him angry. "He's probably still out getting stuff for the shop."

"And why aren't _you_ out getting stuff for the shop?" Jafar demanded angrily, stumbling toward her.

"I did." Gabby answered defensively. "I just got back from getting stuff for the shop and dinner."

"Well, that's NOT ENOUGH!" Jafar screamed. "You should still be out there, making me rich! I should be rich! A ruler of Agrabah! But STUPID Aladdin and his BLASTED GENIE robbed me of my glory!"

Gabby anxiously stepped back as Jafar stumbled closer and closer to her. She'd seen him in a drunk rampage a few times before, but Jay had always been there to handle it, and Jafar usually took his anger out on his son. She'd never been the direct target of his drunken rage.

"M-maybe you should go to bed." she suggested. "You'll feel better after lying down, and I'll have dinner ready soon."

"No, I won't LIE DOWN!" Jafar snapped, stumbling closer still. Gabby stepped sideways since the wall was behind her, slowly moving around him. However, she didn't expect the drunk, stumbling man to move so fast when he suddenly lurched forward and grabbed the collar of her shirt. Gingersnap flew off with a screech of protest. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Jafar screamed in Gabby's face. "This is all your fault! I should be rich and living in a palace! But I'm stuck here, with a no-good son and someone else's unwanted little brat!"

Gabby tried to pull herself free, but he had a firm grip on her shirt collar and she couldn't get loose. Suddenly, she saw a flash of red as Gingersnap swooped down and pulled the back of Jafar's robes up and over his head before flying out of sight again. Not knowing what was happening, Jafar released Gabby to try and pull the garment off his face.

Figuring her best chance would be to leave and come back after Jafar had calmed down, Gabby dashed for the front door. Unfortunately, there were _twenty-four_ locks to unlock before she could even hope to get out. So she really had no hope. She only managed to unlock four of them before Jafar had freed himself and he came stomping toward her.

He grabbed her by her hair, which she had in a ponytail, and yanked her away from her only escape. She stumbled and slammed into the counter, sliding down to the floor. She rubbed her shoulder with a wince, but that was the least of her problems. Jafar had pulled a dagger from his belt and was walking toward her, his dark eyes narrowed with rage.

Gabby frantically looked around the room, desperate for something to defend herself with. But she found nothing. So, as he came closer, Gabby scrambled to her feet and ran to the side, hoping to at least put some distance between herself and Jafar. Unfortunately, with her only escape locked, she was reduced to putting distance between herself and Jafar by running around the shop and trying to find a way to defend herself.

She ran around a few shelves, contemplating running into the kitchen or something, when she actually _looked_ at one of the shelves. Set on one of the taller shelves was an antique china plate. It was grimy and had a couple chips in it, but that didn't stop Jafar from pricing it at $99. It was considered to be one of the most expensive items in the shop, and would probably never be sold, though Jafar would never admit it.

Snatching the plate from the display, Gabby spun around and held it in front of her chest, hoping Jafar wasn't too drunk to realize what this was. He stopped a few feet away from her and looked at the plate. Gabby was hopeful that this would work, since he'd stopped instead of charging at her with the blade aimed for her throat.

"If you come after me," Gabby told him seriously, "I will smash this plate to pieces."

Jafar glanced at the plate before glaring at her, his face twisted into a sneer.

"Let me leave in peace. I'll come back when you've sobered up, and you'll get your plate back. But you have to let me leave here, right now, unharmed." Gabby reiterated.

Jafar growled low in his throat, but he took a slow step back. Gabby sensed that was her answer. He took a couple more steps back, leaving the path to the front door open.

Hearing the click of locks and the door scraping the floor as it swung open drew Gabby's attention away from Jafar and to the door. Jay stepped in and glanced between them.

Jafar took advantage of Gabby's distraction. He flew at her, blade swinging. Gabby screamed and leapt back, bumping into the shelf behind her and lifting the plate as if it would protect her from injury. The shelf toppled over and things went crashing to the floor, but that was mere background noise.

Jay raced forward, grabbing his dad's knife-wielding hand. The two struggled for a moment before Jafar yanked his arm free and slashed at Jay's abdomen. Jay staggered away, his hand going to his stomach. In a panic, Gabby lifted the antique plate she was still clutching and brought it down on Jafar's head.

It shattered on impact and Jafar dropped to the ground. Silence fell over the shop. All Gabby could hear was her own gasping breath and the blood roaring in her ears. She stared at Jafar, not even wondering if she'd killed him or if he was simply unconscious. He was sprawled on his stomach, the knife limp in his hand, and shards of the plate around his head.

That's when Gabby remembered Jay. She raced over to where he'd sunk to the floor, leaning back against the wall with his hand pressed to his stomach. Kneeling on the floor next to him, Gabby gently pulled his hand away.

The knife had slashed through the leather of his jacket, and blood was seeping through the rip.

Gabby swallowed a lump in her throat. "Um, okay…Okay, let's get you into the kitchen." she decided.

"I'm fine." Jay argued, but his voice was weak.

"I'll decide when you're fine." Gabby stated, taking Jay's arm and pulling him to stand. She pulled his arm over her shoulders and helped him into the kitchen. She made him get up on the kitchen counter and take his jacket off. She then made him take off his shirt so she could get a good look at his injury.

Running a rag under the faucet, she got it damp before returning to Jay and gently dabbing at the cut. She tried not to blush or think about the fact that she was touching his bare abs. He was already arrogant enough. After getting all the blood cleaned off his flat stomach, she could see it wasn't too serious of an injury. She probably could give him stitches, but she figured just bandaging it would be fine.

"Hold this over your cut." she ordered him. He took the rag from her hand and pressed it over the wound while she hurried from the room. She found an old shirt and brought it back with her, ripping off two pieces. Gingersnap followed and perched on Gabby's shoulder, snuggling into Gabby's neck. Her tiny body was trembling slightly against Gabby's neck, probably from the chaos of the earlier confrontation.

Gabby took the rag from Jay and looked at the cut. The bleeding had mostly stopped apart from a trickle, revealing a relatively clean cut that was a few inches long. She folded up the smaller piece of the shirt and pressed it over the cut. She then took the longer piece she'd ripped and wrapped it around Jay's abdomen, tying it tightly to keep the fabric in place.

"Why'd you do that?" she asked quietly as she tied the fabric. "Why'd you step in?"

Jay shrugged. "I can take a knife with no problem. I doubt you could." It was a macho statement, one that hid the true answer, but Gabby didn't push. Much.

"I thought you said I need to learn to defend myself." she pointed out, pulling away and looking up at him.

Jay was looked straight ahead, not meeting her eyes. "I could see that you were doing what you could to defend yourself. He went after you when you were distracted. I figured, if he wasn't going to fight fair, why should we?"

Gabby nodded slowly, gathering up the things she'd used to tend to his wound. This seemed like the perfect time to say thank you…But villains didn't say thank you.

"I'll make us a quick dinner, and then you should rest. And take it easy the next few days, with your injury." Gabby ordered quietly.

Jay glanced over at her and smirked slightly. "Sure thing."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch 5: (2014)**

 **Note: A lot of this chapter is based off the Descendants novel 'The Isle of the Lost', though I tweaked it a bit, but it still contains quotes and scenes from the book, as well as spoilers.**

Gabby waited patiently, browsing the many old, used clothes at the booth in front of her. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, seeing a flash of red. She smirked slightly, and then-

"Thief! Thief!" a familiar voice screamed from a few booths down. People looked around curiously. It wasn't shocking for there to be a thief, but people were still curious. While the woman running the booth looked toward the voice, Gabby snatched a couple shirts she'd been eyeing, as well as a jacket. She stuffed them into her own jacket as best she could while hurrying out of the market. It wasn't more than a few seconds before she felt the familiar prick of talons landing lightly on her shoulder.

Turning her head, Gabby grinned at Gingersnap, who was preening her feathers proudly.

"Good girl." Gabby told her, hurrying into a random alley and heading toward the shop. She slowed her pace when she was out of sight, but it wasn't long before she heard footsteps behind her. Tensing, Gabby hurried around the next corner, but the person was still following her.

"Excuse me?"

Gabby slowed slightly and looked over her shoulder, as the voice was not one she recognized. A girl was following her. She was about Gabby's age, and her hair and clothes were dark blue.

"Yes?" Gabby asked warily, keep a tight hold on the things she'd stolen as the girl got closer.

"I'm Evie." the girl greeted her in a chipper tone as she stopped in front of her. "What's your name?"

Gabby blinked in bewilderment. "Gabby." she answered slowly.

"Hi, Gabby." Evie beamed at the answer. "Is that your parrot?" she asked, nodding toward the bird still perched on Gabby's shoulder.

"Yeah." Gabby answered slowly, still wary of this new acquaintance.

"I have a parrot just like that." Evie continued, not seeming to notice her new companion's lack of enthusiasm. "I got him for my sixth birthday. His name's Othello. What's your bird's name?"

Before Gabby could answer, her bird answered for herself; "Gingersnap." she squawked, shifting on Gabby's shoulder.

Evie's eyes lit up. "She can talk? Did you teach her that?"

Gabby shrugged, a blush staining her pale cheeks. "Yeah, I guess. I've had her since I was five. Actually, I think we might have gotten them the same time." she admitted. "My brothers got her at a girl's birthday party. It was probably yours, to be honest."

Evie tilted her head slightly, looking either worried or confused. "Did you not come to my party? Did I invite you?"

Gabby shrugged. "You might have, or you might not have known I existed. My dad wouldn't have let me go, anyway. My three older brothers got to go, though. I stayed home with my mom."

Evie looked relieved. "Oh, good. Because there was one girl that I know of that wasn't invited, and it _did not_ end well." she explained, looking mildly haunted by the memory. Gabby was curious about what had happened, but before she could ask, Evie moved onto a different topic. "I've taught Othello a few words, too, but he somehow ended up learning a lot of swear words, and I have no idea where he learned them."

Gabby smiled slightly. "Thankfully, I don't think Gingersnap's picked up any swear words, which is a miracle growing up with my dad and brothers." she said, earning a giggle from Evie. "But she's learned some pretty useful words, so she can give me warnings and things."

Evie smirked slightly, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Like yelling 'thief' to create a diversion?"

Gabby fought a smirk. "I have no idea what you're talking about." she stated lightly, though she knew she was caught. Just not in a bad way.

"Do you go to Dragon Hall?" Evie asked curiously.

Gabby shook her head. "My dad kept me out of school my whole life, and I don't see any point in starting now. I just do Jay's homework."

Evie sighed in disappointment. "Oh. I was hoping to at least know someone. I've been, I guess you could call it "castle-schooled" since I was six. I'll be starting Dragon Hall soon, though."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Just don't get on anyone's bad side. Then again, I guess everyone only has bad sides around here." Gabby admitted, smiling. Evie laughed.

"I suppose so. Well, maybe I'll at least see you around the market."

"I hope so." Gabby agreed with a small smile.

*~0~*

"You know what you could do with that?" Evie asked, suddenly popping up on Gabby's right side and making Gabby jump.

"What?" Gabby asked, looking around.

"That red jacket." Evie nodded toward the red leather jacket Gabby was wearing. "It's cute, but it's a bit plain. If you want, I sew and design my own clothes. I have a few ideas I could do with that."

Gabby thought for a moment. Her and Evie had run into each other a few more times since they met a couple weeks back. Evie had also started attending Dragon Hall, where she apparently became talk of the school, according to Jay. And she'd already made an enemy of Mal somehow.

"Well, I know how to sew." Gabby told her. "But what ideas did you have in mind?"

Evie pursed her lips as she looked over Gabby's jacket thoughtfully. She even went so far as to walk backwards in front of Gabby to get a better look at the jacket.

"You have a black jacket that's similar to this one, right?" Evie checked.

Gabby nodded. "Yeah."

"You could use it for extra fabric. A really simple idea would be your red leather jacket with black sleeves. Or instead of completely black sleeves, just the shoulders and upper arms could be black."

Gabby looked down at her jacket, looking from one shoulder to the other as she envisioned Evie's suggestion. "That's a great idea." she responded, surprised. "I might have to do that when I get a chance."

Evie beamed, turning to walk at her side again. "I thought so. I could do more, if you wanted."

Gabby laughed. "I think I can try it on my own, but I'll let you know if I want something done that I can't do myself."

Evie nodded and continued to walk with Gabby as she headed toward the Junk Shop.

"So, what's it like? Living with Jay and Jafar?" Evie asked curiously. "I've lived alone with my mom for almost ten years, so I can't imagine living with two guys I'm not even related to."

Gabby shrugged. "It's not too bad. Not much different from living with my dad and brothers. It's better, actually."

Evie nodded. "I suppose so. It's probably better than living with my mom, really. Living alone made her go a little, well…off. She sometimes talks like she's a magic mirror."

"You never really told me why you got banished to the Castle Across the Way." Gabby pointed out.

Evie grimaced slightly. "Oh, well,…you remember how your brothers got Gingersnap at my sixth birthday party?"

"Yeah." Gabby answered, glancing over at the blue-haired girl.

"Well,…my mother had sort of been…Well, she wanted to be Queen of the Isle when everyone was first banished here. But obviously, Maleficent became ruler by a landslide. My mother sort of retaliated by inviting everyone but Mal to my birthday party. Mal got upset, so Maleficent got revenge by banishing my mother and I to the Castle Across the Way."

Gabby winced. "So, your mother basically repeated to Mal what Sleeping Beauty's parents did to Maleficent." she summed up. "Not exactly the smartest thing to do."

Evie rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. And now, Mal hates me for it. I didn't even have any say in who got invited and who didn't! I begged my mom to invite Mal!"

"I'm sure she'll get over it." Gabby assured her, though she secretly doubted it. "Just…watch your back around her for a while, just in case." she suggested with a slight chuckle.

Evie smiled slightly. "Oh, I will."

They rounded the corner at that moment and both slowed hesitantly as the Junk Shop came into view. A small group of teens were gathered there, made up of Jay, Carlos,…and Mal.

Gabby exchanged a glance with Evie, about to suggest Evie head home when the other three teens looked at them. Mal's sharp green eyes narrowed and Gabby wondered if she'd just signed her death warrant in getting caught hanging out with Evie.

The two girls slowly approached the group, since Evie's home was in the same direction. Gabby tried to keep her eyes off Mal and glanced at Carlos and Jay. Carlos glanced nervously at Mal before giving her a small smile. Jay had his arms crossed casually as he watched Gabby and Evie.

"Well, Gab," Mal stated when they were close enough, "I didn't think you were so desperate for company that you'd bond with Princess Blueberry."

Gabby grimaced, glancing awkwardly at Evie.

"I was just heading home." Evie said carefully.

"You do that." Mal told her arrogantly. "Jay and I were just talking with Carlos about the party I'm having at Hell Hall."

Gabby glanced at Carlos in confusion, noticing the younger boy looked less than pleased by the topic. "But Hell Hall is Carlos's house. Why are _you_ hosting a party at _his_ place?"

Mal smirked at Gabby. "You really think I can host a party at my place? My mother would probably banish everyone in attendance."

Gabby nodded slightly, knowing she had a point.

"When's the party?" Evie asked hesitantly.

Mal raised her eyebrows at her. "It's invitation only. Did I say you were invited?"

Gabby glanced at Evie, who looked slightly disappointed. "So, who all _is_ invited?" Gabby asked, hoping to take the attention off Evie. They weren't friends, because you can't have friends on the Isle, but Evie didn't seem to have anyone else, and Gabby enjoyed talking with her about things.

Mal smirked. "Oh, just about _everyone_." she answered. "You could come, too, if you want, Gabs."

Gabby glanced at Jay and saw him watching her carefully. She got the sense this party was a cover for something else. Something she didn't want anything to do with. She looked back at Mal and answered, "I've got a lot to do tonight, so I'll have to pass. I'm sure it'll be a scream without me. You won't even notice I'm not there."

Mal narrowed her eyes at her for a moment. "Whatever you say." she finally relented. "Your loss." Turning back to Evie, she snapped, "What are you still doing here? Eavesdropping on our conversation?"

Evie dropped her eyes and hurried away toward her home across the Isle. They all watched her leave before Mal turned to stare at Gabby with poisonous green eyes.

"You really should be careful who you hang out with, Gabby." Mal told her quietly, in a dark, evil tone. "You don't want to piss off the wrong people."

*~0~*

Gabby scooted closer to the wall when she saw Jay's boots approaching the shelf they both slept under. He'd bulked up in the last couple years, so it was more of a tight squeeze than before.

Jay plopped down on the ground, laid on his back, and scooted under the shelf until his shoulder touched hers.

"So, how was the party?" Gabby asked curiously, her hands on her stomach as she stared up at the bottom of the shelf.

Jay chuckled. "Awesome, of course. You should've come."

Gabby turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "Were my brothers there?" she knowingly.

Jay opened his mouth, then sighed in defeat. "Yeah. Yeah, they were there. You can't hide from them forever, you know."

"Anyone else there?" Gabby asked, changing the subject. Jay had gone to Hell Hall, where Mal had forced Carlos to host her party. Gabby could have gone, after all, just about every teen on the Isle was invited, but she chose to stay home.

Jay nodded. "Yeah. Carlos, Mal, Evie, Ginny Gothel, some of the pirates, Anthony Tremaine, and some evil step granddaughters, who I had a _fantastic_ time with." Jay answered with a smirk.

Gabby rolled her eyes, smirking slightly in return. "So, Mal changed her mind about inviting Evie?"

Jay smirked. "Oh, yeah. And she locked her in Cruella's fur coat closet. Carlos had to save her."

Gabby hid her grimace, not liking that announcement. Instead, she changed the subject. "Score anything good at the party?"

" _I_ thought so." Jay huffed. "But of course, all Dad can talk about is the "Big Score" I'm supposed to find that can fix everything. Nothing else is good enough."

Gabby looked over at him. He was staring distractedly up at the bottom of the shelf. She wanted to tell him he'd find it someday. That he would make his father proud one day. But deep down, she knew he wouldn't. She'd learned early on what no one else seemed to. Making villain parents proud was next to impossible. Well, _maybe_ Gaston Jr. and Gaston the Third _might_ make Gaston proud one day. He was at least pleased to have three sons. But of course, Gabby had accepted early on that she, as Gaston's unwanted daughter, would never make her father proud.

So, instead of lying to him, or even saying the blunt truth, Gabby just pressed her arm against his. She didn't know if he was aware of what she was doing, but he didn't pull away.

*~0~*

Gabby returned to the Junk Shop a few minutes before Jay returned from school. She'd spent the day the same way she usually did; sneaking around shops and booths and stealing whatever she could that could be useful for food or money.

"I've got it!" Jay whispered excitedly, rushing through the store to her side where she was cleaning the newest inventory before she placed them on the shelf.

"Got what?" she asked curiously, pausing to look up at him.

"The Big Score!" Jay whispered as if it were obvious. "Last night, Mal told me that Maleficent's raven Diablo unfroze, and he told Maleficent that her scepter the Dragon's Eye is somewhere on the Isle of the Lost."

Gabby nodded slowly as she took this in. "And you think her scepter is the Big Score?" she guessed.

"Well, it's _a_ Big Score." Jay pointed out. "Can you imagine what me and Dad could do with Maleficent's scepter?"

"You couldn't use it. There's no magic on the Isle." Gabby pointed out.

Jay rolled his eyes. "I know that. But that's besides the point. Mal said she's going to look for it for her mom, and she asked me to help her. I brushed her off at first, but at school today I realized _this_ could be my chance to get the Big Score for my dad! I could "help"," he explained, making air quotes with his fingers, "Mal find it and then steal it out from under her nose. It's perfect!"

Gabby shrugged. "Okay. So what's your plan?"

"Well, first I need to find Mal and tell her I'm in. Then act like I'm being all helpful and whatever until we find it, and grab it before she can. Simple."

"Just don't go overboard on being "helpful", or you'll make her suspicious."

"What do you take me for? An amateur?" Jay asked sarcastically.

Gabby rolled her eyes, heading for the kitchen to start on dinner. Jay followed her and hopped up onto the counter to watch her cook. He even fed some crackers to Gingersnap, who'd followed them and perched on the thief's shoulder.

"So, I take it you don't want in on the plan?" Jay guessed.

"I doubt Mal would want me involved in this plan." she pointed out, cutting up a few halfway decent potatoes she'd snatched from the market that day. "And I wouldn't want to mess it up for you. I'm of more use here, doing normal stuff like cooking and cleaning."

Jay shrugged. "Whatever you want, I guess. Don't you ever get bored doing all this for us?"

Gabby peaked over at him. "Are you giving me permission to stop?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hell no!" Jay exclaimed, though he was partially joking. "I'm just wondering. It all seems kinda boring."

Gabby shrugged. "Well, it's certainly not fun. It's more…most of it I can do without actually thinking about it. It keeps me busy and gives me something to do."

Jay nodded slowly. "Well, good. Because you have to do it whether you like it or not." he joked.

Gabby narrowed her eyes at him, fighting a grin as she chucked a small scrap of potato skin at him. He laughed, leaning back into the wall to dodge it. Gingersnap squawked in protest at the sudden movement, flapping her wings once indignantly.

Suddenly, Jafar's booming voice called from the front of the shop, "JAY! MAL WANTS YOU!"

Jay grinned, throwing Gabby a wink as he hopped down from the counter. "THERE IN A SEC!" he yelled back. Gingersnap squawked angrily again, snapping her beak as she hopped from Jay's shoulder to Gabby's. "Wish me luck!" Jay whispered, clapping Gabby's back.

"Good luck!" she whispered after him as he swept out of the kitchen and into the front of the shop. "He's going to need it." she added quietly to Gingersnap, holding up a small piece of carrot, which the bird took in her beak and gobbled down.

*~0~*

The next morning came early, at least for Jay. Of course, when he woke up and left to meet up with Mal to begin their quest, he inadvertently woke up Gabby in their makeshift bed under the shelf. Unable to fall back asleep, Gabby began her day, as well. She started it with a quick breakfast at the Slop Shop, even though she chose to actually sit in the shop and eat it there for a change. Then she wandered around in search of things to steal for the shop or food.

When she left the Slop Shop, she hesitated before ducking into an alley. There were a lot of kids and teens in the market at the moment, getting breakfast and stuff before they headed to school. She could see Harry Hook talking to a girl. She had dark skin and long, turquoise, frizzy hair. Gabby wasn't sure if Harry was giving her problems or not, but the girl seemed able to hold her own, as Gabby saw her punch his shoulder.

Deciding to steer clear of the pair, Gabby turned and headed the other way, her loyal parrot perched on her shoulder. She knew she should be on the lookout for things to steal, but doing that everyday got old really fast. And besides, Jay was on a quest to steal Maleficent's scepter. If he succeeded, there would really be no need for Gabby to steal anything for the day. So, she wandered somewhat aimlessly, trying to find something interesting to do for a change. Anything other than stealing, cooking, cleaning, sewing, or anything of the kind.

With that in mind, she turned into a random alley, trying to remind herself to keep her wits about her. After all, you have to watch your back on the Isle of the Lost. _'What must it be like,'_ she wondered, _'to live in Auradon? Where you don't have to fight for survival, live off garbage, and hurt people just to get by? To go to school and be a normal kid with no evil responsibilities?'_

She wanted that. She couldn't admit it out loud, but she really did. She didn't want to be evil, like her father and the other villains. She just wanted to be a normal girl. What she wouldn't give just for the chance to live in Auradon.

"Hey!"

Gabby spun around, Gingersnap squawking on her shoulder. A boy was pointing down the alley at her and calling to someone. He was dressed in pirate garb, and Gabby shouldn't have been surprised when, a second later, he was joined by two other boys; one of them being Harry Hook.

Groaning in annoyance, Gabby spun around and bolted down the alley as fast as she could. She was glad the black tights and simple red skirt she was wearing made for easy running, but the brown, knee-high boots Evie had insisted she wear made running a mild pain.

Gabby ran at a fast pace, making random twists and turns to try and lose her pursuers. When she reached the corner of another building, she raced around the corner and tripped on a crate, tumbling head over heels to the ground. Gingersnap luckily took flight before Gabby hit the ground, saving the parrot from injury.

Hearing the guys getting closer, Gabby scrambled over the crate and saw a small corner behind a barrel. Crawling frantically, Gabby tucked herself into the small corner and held her breath.

The footsteps drew closer until Harry and his followers ran just past her, slowing to a stop.

"Where'd she go?" one of them asked.

"I don't-" they were interrupted by a parrot's screech farther down the alley. "This way!"

The footsteps returned and faded as the boys followed Gingersnap's call. Gabby waited until their footsteps completely faded to silence before she relaxed, letting her head drop to her knees. A few seconds later, she heard wings flapping before talons pricked her shoulder.

"Good girl." Gabby whispered, reaching up to gently scratch Gingersnap's chin.

"Idiots." Gingersnap said, making Gabby chuckle quietly.

Groaning quietly, Gabby let herself rock back onto her butt until she could lean back against the rough, wood wall behind her. She figured she could rest here for a while until she was sure the coast was clear.

Then, a low groaning came from behind her before suddenly, the wall gave out beneath her. Gasping in shock, Gabby suddenly found herself practically flat on her back. Gingersnap fluttered to safety and perched on a barrel, staring down at Gabby.

"You idiot." Gingersnap told her.

"Oh, shut up." Gabby groaned, pushing herself up with her elbows and palms.

"Oh, shut up." Gingersnap parroted. Gabby narrowed her eyes at her bird before dropping the subject and looking behind her to see what had happened.

What she found was not what she'd expected.

She hadn't taken much stock of her surroundings when she'd been rushing to find somewhere safe to hide. She hadn't thought much of the fact that she'd been leaning heavily on a wood surface. But that wood surface wasn't a wall like she'd thought. It was simply a big, wide, plank of wood. What the plank was hiding is what Gabby was currently gaping at.

Stairs. It was a flight of rusty, old, metal stairs. Taking a step closer, wary of the plank that was now covering at least the first three steps, Gabby leaned forward and looked up. She was currently under some kind of overhang connected to the building. The stairs appeared to go up until she couldn't see the top, in small sections to landings before continuing up another flight of steps.

Gabby bit her lip thoughtfully before feeling Gingersnap returned to her perch on her shoulder.

"What do you think?" Gabby asked her companion. "Should we go up?"

"Up. Up." Gingersnap insisted, shifting her feet excitedly.

Thinking about it, Gabby glanced around to ensure no one was around. Then, she picked up the plank of wood. It was large and awkward, but Gabby turned around and backed up the stairs before placing the plank back where it'd been before, completely hiding the entrance to the staircase. With that done, Gabby turned and began a slow ascent up the stairs. She walked softly after her boots made the first few steps clang loudly.

Breathing slowly, Gabby continued a slow, cautious climb. When she reached the first landing, she slowed and rested her hand on the metal railing. It was rough with decay and rust. It almost felt like a balcony; like what royalty had outside their castle tower bedrooms. Except they probably had beautiful views. All Gabby would see was a blank brick wall across the alley. For once it was graffiti-free, probably because it was too high up for anyone to tag it.

Pausing, Gabby looked at the wall and then glanced up. Stepping closer to the rail, she leaned out and tried to see how high up the building went. A thought popped into her mind, and she forced herself not to hurry up the rest of the stairs. A couple more landings brought her about eyelevel with the roof of the next building. In the distance, just over the building, she could see green. Hurrying up to the next and final landing, she finally saw it.

It was green and bright and beautiful. It was everything she'd ever imagined, and she was only looking at it from a long distance. There were castles and mountains. It was a paradise, and Gabby wished desperately she could see it in person.

Auradon. The place where all the good people got to live while the villains and bad guys were banished to this trash heap they called the Isle of the Lost.

This landing, this balcony of sorts, gave Gabby a perfect, unhindered view of Auradon.

Gabby wasn't sure how long she stared out at the sight, but eventually Gingersnap got bored. She took a stray strand of Gabby's black hair in her beak and tugged sharply on it. "Explore."

Gabby blinked and nodded. Turning around, she looked at where she was. There were no more staircases, but where the landing connected to the wall of the building there was a door. It was an old, rotted door that was hanging by only one hinge. Stepping toward it, Gabby hesitantly pushed against the door with both hands. It creaked eerily and looked like it would fall off, but the single hinge appeared to be holding it up for the time being.

Gabby slipped into the building, looking around hesitantly. She was shocked when she saw a window. Unlike most windows on the Isle, which were grimy, dirty, or even broken, this window was very different. It was divided into squares and was mostly clear, but some of the squares were randomly colored. Red, blue, purple, and green were scattered among the clear glass squares, giving the window an almost stained-glass look to it. It was something Gabby had never seen before.

Gabby's hand bumped something metal and rusty and she realized she'd been walking distractedly and not watching where she was going. Looking down and around, she realized there was a handrail on her side opposite the window, and just ahead the handrail lead to a short flight of stairs. She turned and walked down the four steps until she reached the floor again. She paused there, unsure where to go next. There was an open doorway ahead just to her left, and a hallway to her right. This place looked like a maze, and part of her worried she'd get lost if she went too far in.

But then Gingersnap flew off her shoulder, and Gabby didn't care if she got lost. This was somewhere new, somewhere different, that she could explore. Why not take advantage of that?

Gabby wasn't sure how long she explored the building. The walls and ground were white or light gray, everything was dusty and dirty, there were cobwebs in the corners and mold on some walls. But it was the most amazing place Gabby had ever seen in person.

There were several wide open rooms, lots of open doorways with short flights of two or three steps. The only real sources of color were the windows, which were all colorful like the first one Gabby saw. Gabby wouldn't have thought there was anywhere for Gingersnap to perch, but the little parrot kept finding perches on the different hand railings, which were more abundant than the steps. There were also a couple old pieces of furniture, like a lumpy armchair with springs sticking out of it. Gabby carefully sat on said armchair, which released a puff of dust.

"Fun." Gingersnap decided, flying across the room to perch on the arm of the chair by Gabby's arm. She lifted a hand to scratch her parrot's head. "Home."

Gabby smiled slightly, letting her eyes travel thoughtfully around the room. "Maybe not home." she said quietly. "But it's…definitely something."

Gabby wasn't sure how long she stayed in that building. But she started cleaning it up a little bit, swiping away cobwebs and trying to gather dust in a pile, but she didn't exactly have the equipment for that kind of work. Eventually, however, she realized she had no idea what time it was and that she probably needed to get back to the Junk Shop. She also realized she'd spent the whole day at this building, and hadn't even considered getting food for Jay and Jafar.

"Come on, Gingersnap." Gabby called out into the slightly-cleaner building. "We need to go."

Gingersnap came swooping in from another room to land on Gabby's shoulder. "No!" the parrot cried. "Stay!"

Gabby laughed. "We might come back, but we need to get dinner for Jay, remember?"

Gingersnap responded by making a loud farting noise. Gabby laughed again.

She had to be very sneaky when she left the building. She made sure to slip silently out of the stairs, returning the plank of wood to it's spot hiding the entrance. She then hurried down the alley to return to the marketplace, where she snatched some bread. That was really all she had the chance to steal on her way back to the Junk Shop, but she also heard a lot of interesting rumors along the way. When she got there, it was to find Jay talking to his father, and Jafar did not look happy.

She must have arrived at the very end of the conversation, because Jafar spun around and stomped into the kitchen. Jay, whose back was facing Gabby, slouched slightly in place, his shoulders dropping in obvious disappointment.

Gabby let the door shut a bit louder than she normally would. Jay instantly straightened his back and turned around. When he saw her, he relaxed.

"Oh. It's just you." he sighed.

Gabby watched him closely. "Yep. Just me. So, I take it your quest didn't go as well as you planned?"

"What makes you say that?" Jay asked tiredly, crossing his arms in a relaxed pose.

"Just some interesting rumors going around the Isle." Gabby answered.

Jay's head dropped forward. "So, you heard." he guessed.

"Well, I heard that you didn't get to steal the Dragon's Eye from Mal, and that Mal actually risked her life to save _Evie_. Want to tell me about that?"

Jay shrugged. "There's not much to tell. Me and Mal dragged Evie and Carlos into the quest with us, because apparently some little device Carlos invented punched a hole in the barrier and caused some magic to enter the Isle. We traveled to Maleficent's real castle in Nowhere. It was…definitely a crazy quest. We almost died a few times. And then when we found the scepter…I guess there's some curse on it. That the first person to touch it is cursed to fall asleep for a thousand years or something. Evie was going to touch it. But Mal stopped her and grabbed it herself."

"Is Mal okay?" Gabby asked, her eyes wide in astonishment. Considering how much Mal hated Evie, why would she stop her from cursing herself?

Jay nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. Unconscious for maybe a couple minutes, but she woke up pretty quick. But anyway, I didn't get the chance to steal the scepter. It vanished before I could. So, just another failure to add to my list that I'm sure Dad is putting together." Jay sighed, gesturing toward the kitchen where his dad had disappeared.

Gabby glanced past him toward the kitchen door. She then pulled the loaf of bread she had from her pocket. "Well, this is all I managed to grab for dinner…I could give it to Jafar. Want to get out of here and look for something else to eat?"

Jay thought for a second before grinning at her. "Sure thing."

Gabby slipped into the kitchen, where Jafar was talking to Iago. She placed the bread on the counter and said in one quick breath, "Here's your dinner. Gotta go. Bye." She then turned and raced back out the door, following Jay out of the shop and toward the marketplace.

On their way, Gabby noticed two people approaching the market from the distance. One had blue hair, the other had white hair. Gabby lightly smacked Jay's arm and nodded toward them. Seeing Evie and Carlos, Jay stopped and waited for them with Gabby at his side.

"Hey, guys." Gabby greeted them. "I hear you've had quite the adventure today." she noted.

Evie and Carlos laughed slightly, exchanging glances with each other and Jay.

"Yeah, I guess most of the Isle has heard about that." Carlos agreed.

"Ugh. My mom, of course, freaked out about my hair more than anything." Evie laughed, rolling her eyes.

Gabby tilted her head, eyeing Evie's perfectly curled blue hair. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, now. It was a little frizzy earlier. She said it looked like a rats nest." Evie explained. "I had to fix it before I could get out of the house again."

"Yeah, Dad was pissed at me, too." Jay agreed. "I needed to get out of there. Gabby and I were going to find some food. You guys wanna come?"

"Sure!" Evie and Carlos agreed, beaming.

"Should we ask Mal to come with us?" Evie added, to Gabby's surprise.

Jay and Carlos nodded and they all headed toward Bargain Castle, where Mal lived with Maleficent. When they got there, they looked up to see Mal out on the balcony, looking out over the streets below.

"Mal!" Jay called. Mal barely looked down at them before running into the castle. A few moments later, she came out the front doors to greet them.

"What's up?" she asked, looking around at them. She glanced briefly at Gabby, but focused mainly on the other teens.

"Just trying to get away from our parents and always disappointing them." Carlos explained.

"You too, huh?" Mal asked, looking around at Jay, Carlos, and Evie. All three nodded.

"We were heading to the market to get some dinner. Wanna come?" Evie asked.

"Sure."

"Then let's go. Oh, and Evie-I believe this is yours." Jay told her, pulling a red, poison-heart necklace from his vest.

"My necklace!" Evie beamed, putting the necklace back around her neck.

"I found it." Jay explained modestly.

"In his pocket." Gabby and Mal said together. Everyone laughed, except Mal and Gabby. Blue eyes met green, and Gabby wondered if she was doomed. Mal narrowed her eyes slightly before pointedly turning her back on Gabby and heading toward the market, talking with Carlos, Evie, and even Jay, but ignoring Gabby's existence.

As they all headed toward the market, Gabby trailed at least a foot behind the group, feeling awkward and left out. The other four had obviously bonded on their shared journey; a bond that was unique on the Isle of the Lost. A bond that Gabby didn't share with any of them. Sure, she got along great with Evie and Carlos, and of course she got along with Jay. She just really hoped Mal wouldn't cause problems for her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch 6: (Still 2014)**

Gabby winced when the shop door shut behind her a bit louder than she would've preferred. Gingersnap shushed her and Gabby glared briefly at the bird perched on her shoulder before stepping further into the shop. Before she reached the front counter, Jay approached her from another part of the shop.

"Where've you been?" he asked curiously. He'd been home from school for a good hour and hadn't seen her since that morning.

"Sorry I'm a bit late. I was grabbing some stuff and food." Gabby explained, beginning to pull stuff from her jacket and pockets. She pulled a few trinkets and random things she'd nabbed from people, as well as the food she'd grabbed on the way home to prepare for dinner.

"Is this all you managed to grab?" Jay asked with a frown, picking up a small, silver spoon. If it was real silver, it could fetch a decent price. But it was only one of a handful of items Gabby had placed on the counter. "I could grab this in less than an hour. What've you been doing all day?" he asked, turning his dark eyes on her.

Gabby flushed under his gaze and her throat went dry. "Um, well, I-"

"Home!" Gingersnap squawked, flapping her wings once. Gabby and Jay stared at the bird, Gabby was frozen while Jay was curious.

"Home?" Jay repeated slowly, turning his eyes back to Gabby. He watched her closely. "What does she mean 'home'?" he asked suspiciously.

Gabby swallowed, trying to get her voice to work. "Um,…" she trailed off, her mind going blank as she searched for an answer. Finally, she sighed in defeat, her shoulders slouching. She reached up with one hand to tuck some stray strands of hair that'd come out of her ponytail behind her ear.

"Well,…I spent part of the day in this…place I found." she admitted quietly. Jay had to take a step closer to actually hear her.

"A place you found?" Jay repeated with interest, crossing his arms casually across his chest.

Gabby's eyes moved randomly about, looking anywhere but at his face. "Yes…A place I found…on the day you, Mal, and everyone went on that quest to find the scepter."

There was silence for a few moments and Gabby risked a glance at Jay's face. He was staring at her with a blank expression, and she wished desperately that she could tell what he was thinking.

"So, you found this place over a week ago,…and I'm just now hearing about it?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question. Luckily, he continued and Gabby didn't have to come up with an excuse. "Have you been going there everyday, spending time there instead of finding stuff for the shop?"

Gabby winced and pointed almost frantically at the stuff she'd stolen and placed on the counter. "I've been finding stuff for the shop! I have. You know I'm not as good as you are at stealing."

Jay narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's true, but that's beside the point. What's so great about this place?"

Gabby opened her mouth, and then closed it wordlessly. She did this a few more times, but she couldn't think of the words to describe why she liked her new hideout so much.

"I don't know." she finally admitted, looking down at her brown boots. "I just really like going there. I've been fixing it up a lot since I found it. It's really well hidden from everyone, as long as I'm careful getting there. It just…I just like hanging out there." she finished. There were other things she could say, but she knew she couldn't say them out loud. She couldn't tell Jay that she felt safe there; that it gave her a break from the rough, dangerous atmosphere of the Isle. And she couldn't tell him that her favorite part was the perfect view of Auradon from one of the landings. He would never understand.

"Okay." Jay's voice pulled Gabby from her thoughts and she jerked her head up to stare up at him. "Tomorrow's Saturday. You can show me this special hideout of yours then. Deal?"

Gabby gaped at him wordlessly for a few moments before realizing it wasn't actually a negotiation. Sighing slightly, she nodded. "Deal."

*~0~*

Gabby forced herself to walk casually, Jay at her shoulder. They usually walked side-by-side when they walked together, but she was usually a step behind him, making it clear to anyone who was in charge. Now, however, Gabby was walking a half a step ahead of Jay. It was very subtle, and it was unlikely anyone would ever notice, but since Jay had no idea where they were going, he had to let Gabby take the lead.

Gabby caught a glimpse of Harry Hook standing with a girl. It was the same girl she'd seen around him lately, with the long, turquoise hair. Mal had informed her the girl's name was Uma, Ursula's daughter. Harry and Uma weren't necessarily a team, but they at least got along. Similar to Jay and Mal's relationship before they'd all formed their little gang.

Turning down a random alley that would eventually lead them to the hideout, Gabby tried not to pick up her pace. Harry Hook always made her nervous and she went out of her way to avoid him. She just hoped he didn't see her and Jay turn into the alley.

"Did Harry see us?" Gabby whispered as they walked down the narrow alley.

"Don't think so." Jay answered back. "Why are you so scared of him, anyway?" he asked after a moment. "He's all hot air and ego. If you'd actually assert yourself once in a while maybe he'd leave you alone. He knows you're easy to intimidate, that's why he picks on you."

Gabby gritted her teeth in frustration for a moment. "Yeah, well, I can't help it. He's bigger and stronger than me. He freaks me out. I try to stand up to him, but I can't."

Jay snorted but didn't say anything else.

Gabby lead the way through a couple more alleys, following a couple corners and back alleys. Finally, she reached a familiar corner. She approached the building, glancing cautiously around to ensure no one was watching. Luckily, the mist that covered most of the Isle helped shield them from view. Gabby hurried over to the corner, ducking under the now-familiar overhang connected to the building. Jay followed her.

Glancing around once more to ensure no one was around, Gabby carefully picked up the large wood plank that was hiding the stairs. She silently nodded toward the stairs, and Jay stepped carefully onto the metal steps. Gabby followed, placing the plank back where it was to hide the stairs again.

Jay let Gabby pass him on the stairs, looking wary in this unfamiliar environment. Gabby led the way up several flights of stairs before they reached the very top. She pushed open the rotted door, which was still only hanging by a single hinge. She wasn't sure how to fix that, so she'd left it and worked on other things. Holding the door open, she waited until Jay stepped through after her before she let it close.

Jay wandered into the building, looking around before Gabby caught up to him. He looked at the colorful window before Gabby slipped past him and walked down the steps and toward the first open doorway. She began to talk as Jay followed her.

"I've mostly been cleaning the place up." she explained as Gingersnap instantly swooped off her shoulder and perched on a ratty old armchair. "You know, dusting and cleaning and fixing a few things. I haven't gotten around to a lot of the bigger fixes."

Jay nodded slowly, still looking around the building with his hands on his hips. "I can definitely see why you like it here so much." he commented. "It's got a lot of potential. And the entrance is well hidden if you're careful. And there's enough space we could store stuff here, and even live here if we needed to."

Gabby nodded slowly, looking around at the space, as well. "Yeah, I suppose." She hadn't really been thinking most of that, apart from the entrance being well hidden, and she wouldn't mind living there.

"We should tell the others about this."

Gabby froze, her eyes snapping back to Jay's face. He wasn't even looking at her, he was still looking around the building.

"What?" Gabby asked, hoping she'd heard him wrong.

"Mal and the others." Jay explained, finally looking over at her. "We should tell them about this. It could be our headquarters or something. Somewhere we can chill or plan schemes and stuff."

Gabby was silent for a moment, shock making it difficult to find her words. "But…But…"

"But what?" Jay asked, looking at her in confusion.

"Well, I…I mean, _I_ found it." Gabby explained weakly, realizing how stupid her argument sounded. After all, if Jay wanted it one way, was it really her place to argue?

Jay just shrugged. "Yeah, so? We're all a gang now. And this place could be useful for all of us."

"But…what if one of them accidentally spills the secret to someone else?" Gabby argued quietly. She really wouldn't mind sharing this place with Carlos and Evie. Preferably, she'd like to keep it to herself, but that ship had sailed. Now, it was Mal she really didn't want to share her place with. She still wasn't too thrilled having to actually hang around the purple-haired girl. And the feeling seemed to be mutual. Gabby enjoyed hanging out with Evie and Carlos. It was Mal she still didn't care for.

Jay snorted, rolling his eyes. "We're all _villains_." he reminded her. "No one's going to spill."

Gabby could see that she had no say in this decision. It had been made. So, she gave in, hiding her disappointment. "Okay, sure."

*~0~*

Gabby hurried down the nearly-abandoned lane. She was on the far side of the Isle, heading to one of the most remote parts of the island. She could vaguely make out the two buildings she was looking for in the gloom. Hell Hall and the Castle Across the Way were as close to neighbors as the two buildings could get, given how isolated both homes were.

She was huffing a bit by the time she saw other figures on the lane; two people heading toward her from the distance. Sighing with relief, Gabby slowed her pace as Evie and Carlos came into view. She waved when she was sure they could recognize her.

"Hey!" Evie called in greeting, waving her hand in return. "What are you doing all the way out here? Looking for us?"

"Actually, yeah." Gabby answered, turning and walking at Carlos's side back toward the main part of the island. "There's something I need to show you. Jay's getting Mal and I'm getting you two. I'm hoping we get there before them, but I doubt we will. It's at least a half an hour walk from here, so…" she trailed off with a shrug.

"What is it?" Carlos asked curiously.

"It's a sort of hideout I found about a week ago." Gabby explained briefly. "I bet you guys'll like it. But we have to be careful getting there. We don't want anyone to see us go there, or it won't be a secret for very long."

Evie and Carlos nodded quickly, both looking excited. Gabby lead them toward the main part of the Isle, taking a different path from the one she'd shown Jay. She took many twists and turns through back alleys until she reached the familiar, worn down building. Evie and Carlos watched with interest as Gabby carefully pulled the plank of wood out of the way and nodded them up the stairs. Their eyes were wide with wonder as they slowly walked up the first few steps. Gabby followed them, hiding the entrance once more as she went.

"How'd you find this?" Carlos asked in an awed whisper as they rounded one of the landings and continued up the next flight of stairs. "The entrance was so well hidden. Was it like that before, or did you hide it?"

Gabby blushed, but luckily she was in the back so they didn't see it. "I, uh, hid down there when some guys were chasing me. I leaned back against that plank of wood after they left, and it couldn't completely hold my weight. It fell back and revealed the stairs. Gingersnap and I explored it."

"How far up does it go?" Evie asked, looking up as they continued up the many stairs.

"A few more flights. It'll bring us to a broken-down wooden door near the top." Gabby explained. When they reached the door, Gabby went through first and held the crooked piece of wood open so they could follow her in. When she closed the door again, she realized she could hear quiet voices farther into the building. She mentally groaned to herself. Jay and Mal were already there.

Gabby lead Evie and Carlos past the first large, colorful window, which Evie commented on, and continued into the main room of the building. Jay and Mal, who were standing there, stopped talking and looked over their shoulders as the other three teenagers entered the room.

"Took you guys long enough." Mal commented, turning back around and looking around again.

Gabby subtly rolled her eyes and moved toward the old armchair, plopping down into it.

Mal put her hands on her hips, looking around with a critical eye. "It'll need some fixing up, but it's got some potential. You were right, Jay."

Carlos looked up from where he'd been looking at one of the colorful windows. "I thought Gabby found this place."

Mal gave him a blank look. "Your point?"

Carlos shrugged, looking down to hide his red face.

"We'll need to clean the place up. Any ideas for decorations?" Mal asked, looking around and running a finger along one of the walls, looking at the dust that gathered on her finger.

Evie perked up. "I have _so_ many!" she gushed.

"We could split the place up into our own areas." Jay pointed out. "Make our own spaces, where we can do what we want and make it our own."

The others nodded, looking around with more interest.

"Carlos," Mal called, "could you make a better entrance than what we have now? Instead of the piece of wood hiding the stairs, maybe make a real hidden entrance?"

Carlos tilted his head thoughtfully, before nodding with a small grin. "Yeah, I could do that." he answered, probably already having a few ideas.

"Great. Gab, you can help with that." Mal ordered, making Gabby blink.

She could personally do much better helping Evie with things, given they had similar hobbies and talents. But speaking out against Mal would be suicide. So, she just nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, all five teens were spread out around the building, cleaning anything that needed to be cleaned. Gabby was in the same room as Carlos, using a ratty, damp rag to clean the windows and walls.

"So, any brainstorms on how we're going to set up the entrance?" Gabby asked Carlos, who was sweeping in the same room as her.

"I was thinking, maybe we could make a door or something that slides up and down. Like, when we want to come up here, we do something so that the door slides up and lets us in. You know?" Carlos explained excitedly.

Gabby paused, letting that idea form a picture in her mind. "That's a great idea. How would we make the door slide up and down, though?"

Carlos hummed thoughtfully, sweeping dust into a pile. "Maybe a lever or something?"

"Yeah." Gabby agreed. "But maybe something a bit more…subtle than a lever. If one of us gets chased here and the door closes behind us, a lever would be a little obvious. They'd probably either try it or break it to see if that would open the door."

Carlos nodded slowly, looking over at her thoughtfully. "Good point. So, something that will blend in more. We can keep our eyes open for something like that."

Gabby nodded in agreement. "Good idea."

Carlos laughed. "It was _your_ idea!" he pointed out.

Gabby smiled sheepishly at her feet. "Oh. Right. Sorry."

Carlos shook his head. "Don't be."

*~0~*

Gabby ducked behind some large crates and slunk farther onto the barge, making sure no Goblins could see her. Once sure the coast was clear, Gabby slipped her backpack off her back and began looking around for anything that might be useful, either for the shop or the hideout.

She shifted through piles of junk and garbage, keeping her eyes open for anything she might deem useful. She quickly found some worn, colorful fabric. Figuring the purple fabric might appeal to Mal, she stuffed it into her bag and continued looking around. She found a box of used spray paint cans and dumped them into her backpack, as well. While shifting through another pile of garbage, her hand scraped against a sharp edge. Jerking her hand back in surprise, Gabby checked she didn't cut herself. Seeing that she was fine, she more carefully shifted through the pile until she found a yellow sign. She pulled it out and got a closer look at it.

The worn, battered yellow sign was a diamond shape. The word 'Danger' was in red letters at the top, and in black letters the words 'Flying Rocks' were on the bottom. There was a simple picture of what looked like a rock in the middle of the sign.

The words made Gabby's lips twitch in amusement. She wasn't sure if this sign would be useful fixing up their new hideout, but if nothing else, she wouldn't mind using it to decorate her own space.

Hearing loud, lumbering footsteps approaching the boat, Gabby quickly grabbed a couple random things she could give to Jafar to sell before sneaking onto the dock and hurrying back toward town, the sign tucked under her arm.

She ducked and wove through back alleys until she reached the corner of the familiar building. She moved the plank of wood as usual and hurried as quietly as her black combat boots would allow up the many flights of metal stairs. At the top, she opened the new door. Jay had replaced the broken one with a newer simple wooden door the day before. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her, hurrying into the main room of the hideout.

In the few days since Jay made Gabby show everyone this place, they'd cleaned it up pretty well and people had started bringing things in. Everyone had claimed their own spaces and started setting things up there. Gabby had claimed a small corner near where Jay had claimed his space with a worn out, brown couch. She hadn't put anything back there yet. She hadn't really had time to find anything to make it her own. She'd been too busy cleaning and helping fix up the hideout, helping at Jafar's shop, and stealing objects and food for Jay and Jafar.

Gabby passed where Evie was sitting in a nearby armchair, sewing something black and white. She then passed Mal, who was spray painting the walls.

"I got some stuff." Gabby called to the room as a whole as she set her bag and the sign down next to Carlos. The black and white haired boy was sitting on the cement ground. He was sitting by a large wood frame with two strips of the same wood forming an X in the middle. "Need help with that?" she asked, kneeling next to him.

"I've already cut out the mesh." Carlos explained, holding up a rectangle of metal fence mesh. "Can you hold it in place while I staple it?"

"Sure." Gabby answered. She held the mesh in place so the edges sat on the pieces of wood. Carlos went around and stapled the mesh in several places until it was sturdy.

"Find anything useful?" Jay asked, entering the room from one of the other rooms. He plopped down on his couch he'd somehow got up there and dragged her backpack toward him to look through it.

"Why do you ask?" Gabby asked sarcastically. "Just help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do." Jay smirked before looking through it again. "Mal! Gabby got some spray paint! Here's the purple you wanted earlier!" he called. When Mal approached, he tossed a couple cans at her, which she caught easily.

"I also found some fabrics and things." Gabby announced, eyeing Mal warily. "There was a purple one I thought you might like, Mal."

Mal paused and looked back at her. After a few moments, she turned and headed back to where Jay was sitting. He pulled out the balled up clumps of fabric and passed them to her. Mal held them up, spreading them out to try and make something of the mismatched clumps of purple, green, and blue lace-like fabric.

"Ooh!" Evie came hurrying over, taking the fabrics from Mal and looking at them. "You know, I could make several things with these, but…you know what you could do with these?" she asked excitedly. "You wanted to put a bed in the corner of your room, right? We could hang these from the walls, like by the corners so they drape down."

Mal eyed Evie for a moment, looking bored, before she shrugged. "Okay, sure. Whatever works." she agreed lightly, taking the fabric from Evie and heading toward her room just off the main room they were all in.

"Hey, what's this?" Carlos asked, picking up the sign Gabby had found.

"Oh, I found that on the barge. Isn't it funny?" Gabby asked. "I thought, if nothing else, I could use it to decorate or something."

"It's perfect!" Carlos exclaimed, grinning excitedly as he looked over at her. "Remember what we were talking about? We need something subtle that we can use to make the door slide up and down?" Gabby nodded in answer. "We can use this!" Carlos exclaimed again, holding the sign up for Gabby to see. "We could rig the door so that, if this sign swings back or something, it makes the door slide up. It's subtle; no one but us will know how it works."

Gabby grinned widely. "That's brilliant! You're a genius!"

Jay rolled his eyes, taking a spray can and a small radio from Gabby's backpack. "Get back to work, nerds."

 **AN: Apparently 2014 is a very eventful year in this story, which wasn't really my intention, but oh well. It'll still be 2014 for chapters 7 and 8.**

 **Hope you all have liked it so far. I love getting reviews, so feel free to let me know what you all thought of this chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch 7: (Still 2014)**

Gabby hurried down the alley until she reached the entrance of the hideout. She glanced around, ensuring no one was around to see, before she picked up a rock off the ground. Drawing her arm back, she threw it with all her might at where the sign was connected to the wall. It was the same sign she'd found on the boat that said 'Danger Flying Rocks'. Gabby's rock hit it dead center and it swung back. This triggered a lever and the mesh door her and Carlos had made slid up to reveal the stairs.

Grinning, Gabby hurried up the steps, hearing the squeak as the door slid down behind her. She hurried up the many flights of stairs, knowing she only had a limited amount of time to be at the hideout. Jafar had been ranting about how her and Jay had been slacking off on bringing him merchandise to sell. They'd been spending most of their time in the hideout lately, avoiding Jafar and some of their responsibilities.

Climbing the stairs and squeezing through the door was tricky with the bulky bean bag she was carrying, but Gabby managed to make it. She crossed the main room and passed Jay's couch. Jay's space was on one side of the large room, and Evie's was on the other, with a sort of gathering place for everyone in the middle.

Gingersnap flew off her shoulder and landed on her perch. Her perch was really a tall floor lamp with five lights at a couple different heights. Gingersnap loved to perch there and move up and down on the different levels. Only one of the lights actually worked, since Gabby didn't see the point in buying or stealing five working light bulbs for one lamp.

Following Gingersnap, Gabby approached the corner behind Jay's couch. In the couple weeks since Gabby had helped Carlos rig the secret entrance, everyone had brought in things to make this place feel like home. Jay had brought a wooden chest that he was using as a sort of coffee table in front of the couch. He'd also brought in an old punching bag, several broken stereos, and a bunch of random trinkets.

Gabby hadn't brought nearly as much for her own space. Only the lamp, and the bean bag she was currently carrying. Setting it down in the corner, Gabby smiled. It was dark red and had a couple holes where the filling was spilling out, but she could fix that easily with a needle and thread. To her, it was perfect. It was just big enough she could curl up on it like a cat and sleep comfortably for once in her life. And it was made of something soft and slightly fuzzy, which made it extra warm and cozy.

A loud clang made Gabby jump and spin around. She hadn't expected anyone else to be there, since they were at school. Hesitantly crossing the room, Gabby peaked through the nearest doorway into Mal's room.

There, Mal had her back to Gabby. She was spray painting twisted thorns with black paint. She'd been doing so for days, decorating the whole hideout with the simple design, as well as several others. Gabby had to admit, the rows of twisted thorns traveling from one room to the next brought the whole place together despite how different everyone was decorating.

Gabby was just about to back away and leave Mal alone when the purple-haired teen must have run out of spray paint. She shook the can and turned around, jumping slightly when she noticed Gabby standing in the doorway.

"What're you doing here?" Mal asked.

"Um, I just stopped by to drop off something. What are you doing here?" Gabby asked warily. "I mean, shouldn't you be in school?"

Mal huffed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, school. Where the teachers can continue to tell me how I screwed up. Thanks, but no thanks."

Gabby looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean? How could _you_ of all people have screwed up?"

Mal smirked, but it was a weak attempt. "Ol' Lady Tremaine told everyone on the Isle how I failed one of her assignments, and gave all the gory details."

Gabby looked at her, at war with herself. Did she dare ask and risk Mal's wrath, or should she leave it alone?

"What was the assignment?" she finally asked, then flinched as if expecting Mal to lash out.

Mal stared at her for several moments. "You don't know? Jay never told you?"

Now very confused, Gabby shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think so."

Mal narrowed her eyes. "You remember how…When all of us went to find my mother's scepter and failed, and I saved Evie's life?"

Gabby nodded. Of course she remembered. It was the main reason she was an outsider in their gang. "What does that have to do with failing an assignment?"

Mal rolled her eyes again. "Tremaine teaches Evil Schemes and Nasty Plots. She gave us an assignment to come up with the greatest evil plot. At first, mine was to prank Evie. I locked her in Cruella De Vil's fur coat closet at my party. But that wasn't _evil enough_ according to Tremaine." Mal scoffed, rolling her eyes again and snatching up a can of spray paint. "So, I _then_ decided my evil plot would be to have Evie be the first to touch my mother's scepter when we found it, because the first person to touch it is cursed to sleep for a thousand years. What's more evil than that? But as you know, I was too soft to let Evie do it, and I grabbed the scepter myself. And now, _no one_ will let me forget it."

Gabby stared silently as Mal finished her rant, turning back to the wall to continue painting the black thorns on the wall.

"You have that problem with your mom, too, huh?" Gabby finally broke the silence.

Mal paused and looked over her shoulder at her, her thin brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Everyone seems to have that problem around here. Wanting nothing more than to make your parents proud. Wanting to be evil enough to make them proud of you for a change." Gabby explained quietly. "When are you guys going to realize it won't happen? Sure, there might be a couple villains on this island that _might_ be proud of their children one day. My father _might_ be proud of the twins. But he'll never be proud of me. As far as he's concerned, I don't exist. I'm someone else's problem now. My father isn't that much different from your mother, or Jafar, or Cruella…He just got sick of seeing his little disappointment everyday and decided to get rid of me instead of keeping me around. Him getting rid of me is the only difference between him and every other villain here."

Mal stared at her silently for several moments, her green eyes blank and void of any emotion for once. When she finally looked away, she looked down at the can of spray paint in her hands. Gabby was just debating whether or not she should leave Mal alone, when she spoke again.

"Maybe you're right." Mal admitted quietly. "Maybe there's nothing I could ever do to make my mother proud of me. But that doesn't mean I can't still try." she added, looking up and meeting Gabby's blue eyes with fierce green ones.

Gabby nodded. "That's true." she agreed quietly.

Mal looked away and looked up at her wall she'd been painting. After a moment, she set the spray paint can back on the ground.

"Wanna get some lunch?" Mal asked abruptly.

Gabby blinked in shock. "Uh, y-yeah. Sure. Okay." she agreed.

Mal nodded once and headed for the door, Gabby following while still in shock.

*~0~*

Gabby slipped through a crowd, easily pocketing a watch sticking out of a guy's pocket. She figured Jafar could sell it for a few bucks. She slipped it into her jacket pocket and continued on her way, only pausing when she caught a flash of blue. Evie was strutting through the marketplace like no one else could.

Gabby hurried after her, dodging a cluster of young witches before she skipped to Evie's side.

"Hi." she greeted her. "What are you up to today?"

Evie smiled at her. "Hi. I'm just heading to the hair salon. You?"

Gabby ignored the question as she eyed Evie's as-usual perfectly curled blue hair. "What could _any_ hair salon do that you can't do a thousand times better?"

Evie giggled before lifting her red bag slightly. It was a bigger purse than she usually carried. "I'm dropping something off. You can tag along, if you'd like. Unless you're doing something."

Gabby hummed, looking back over her shoulder. "Not really. I should be finding food for dinner, but I can do that on the way home."

They turned a few corners and came to another old brick building. This one had a set of large front doors. Above it was a large sign with a picture of scissors that said 'Lady Tremaine's Curl Up & Dye'. Gabby hesitated when she saw the small sign hanging from the door that said 'Closed until Midnight', but Evie just walked right inside like she owned the place. Gabby followed slowly.

They passed through what looked like an old hair salon and walked through a set of clear, plastic flaps that were splattered with colorful paint. Once inside, Gabby gaped around at everything.

Paint was splattered _everywhere_. There was a bathtub with a bunch of containers and tubes dripping colorful liquids. There was a stove with a teapot. There were wigs of all colors and lengths hanging all around the room. There was a desk with slots of colorful bottles. There were several comfy-looking chairs, an iron board, and a couple mirrors. And again, _everything_ was splattered with paint. Even the walls.

"Whoa." Gabby muttered, looking around with wide eyes.

"Dizzy!" Evie called out. A moment later, a shape came racing in from a connecting room. Gabby blinked in shock before realizing it was a little girl.

A young girl, no older than nine years old, wearing a paint-splattered dress and with brown hair in buns, came barreling into the room until she slammed into Evie. Gabby stared in amazement as she watched this little girl hug Evie like her life depended on it.

"Evie!" the girl squealed. "I'm so glad you came today! I have some things for you!"

Evie laughed joyfully, looking even happier than Gabby had ever seen her. Evie was naturally a happy person, but this was even more than usual.

"Oh, Dizzy, there's someone I want you to meet." Evie said suddenly, pulling away and looking over at Gabby. "This is Gabby. Gabby, this is Dizzy. She's Drizella's daughter."

Gabby smiled at the younger girl, who returned it with a wide, toothy smile that Gabby had never seen on the Isle before. She was honestly the cutest thing ever. Her brown hair had colorful streaks in it and was in two buns. She was wearing tortoiseshell glasses with tape in the middle. She was wearing an apron over her green dress, but it didn't protect her from all the paint splatters on every inch of her dress. "It's nice to meet you." she told the little girl.

"You too!" Dizzy returned eagerly. "Evie's told me about you."

Evie laughed sheepishly, looking at the ground. She glanced up at Gabby. "I've told her about all of you. She's been like my little sister for a while." she explained, hugging Dizzy with one arm. "Anyway, I brought some things that you'll be interested in." she added to Dizzy.

They all headed toward a table that had all kinds of trinkets and random objects. Evie placed her bag on the table and opened it. Reaching inside, she shifted her arm around a bit before pulling out a dress.

Dizzy gasped and squealed when she saw it.

It was a blue, frilly dress with elbow-length sleeves and poofy shoulders. It looked like something people wore in olden times, but at the same time Evie had made it look modern and cute. Gabby could easily see Dizzy wearing it.

"You finished it! It's perfect! I love it!" Dizzy squealed, taking it from Evie and looking at it.

"Well, I can't take all the credit." Evie reminded her. "You're the one who designed it."

Gabby's eyes widened slightly as she glanced between Evie and Dizzy. "Wait, seriously? _You_ designed this dress?" she asked Dizzy in amazement.

Dizzy smiled sheepishly, hugging the dress to her chest. "Well, yeah. I love designing stuff like that, but I don't really have the space or time to actually make the clothes I design." she explained with a wave of her hand, gesturing to the messy, cluttered room around them. Gabby had to admit, there wasn't much flat space to design actual outfits.

"Yep." Evie agreed. "So, I took her designs home with me and made it. Which reminds me, I found these at a booth the other day." Evie added, reaching into her bag again. She pulled out a pair of glasses that were in much better shape than the pair Dizzy was currently wearing. "Do you want these?"

"Ooh!" Dizzy took the glasses with one hand, the dress still draped on one arm. She took off her old glasses and placed the new pair on her nose. They were purple cat-eye glasses. Dizzy instantly began looking around the room with an awed expression. "Everything's clearer!" Hurrying across the room, she approached one of the broken mirrors and looked at her expression. "I love them!" she screamed.

" _Quiet!_ " an old lady's voice called from above before something thumped a few times on the ceiling.

"Sorry, Granny!" Dizzy yelled guiltily toward the ceiling before turning back to Evie and Gabby with a big grin as if it hadn't happened. "Thank you _so_ much, Evie. I love them."

"I thought you might." Evie agreed with a smile. "And they look wonderful on you, too. Just as I thought." she added proudly. Gabby grinned, rolling her eyes slightly.

"I thought your grandmother was a teacher at Dragon Hall." Gabby said curiously.

"She is." Dizzy agreed. "My mom and Aunt Anastasia run the salon most of the time while Granny's at school. She's not at school right now because she took the day off. Oh, Evie, I have some new jewelry for you to look at!"

Dizzy then took Evie's hand and practically dragged her across the room to a cluttered work table. Gabby followed curiously and looked at what Dizzy was showing Evie. It looked like all kinds of accessories made of recycled material and things found in the garbage. But they were all amazing. Dizzy gave a couple to Evie to take with her, and even gave one to Gabby when she showed interest in it.

Gabby placed the bracelet Dizzy gave her in her bag, and when she looked up she realized Evie was watching her with her head tilted slightly.

"What?" Gabby asked, feeling uncomfortable under Evie's scrutiny.

"When was the last time you cut your hair?" Evie asked curiously.

Gabby paused, completely thrown by the random question. And she actually had to think of an answer. "Um,…I think my dad cut my hair once…like…years ago? It was at least a year before my dad sold me." she decided, though she still wasn't sure.

"Your _dad_ cut your hair?" Evie repeated, sounding horrified. "Did he butcher it?"

Gabby shrugged uncertainly. "My mom used to give us haircuts, but…well, obviously my dad decided to do it once. He probably thought it was too much work afterward. And I don't know a lot about cutting hair, but it was probably a bit uneven."

"A _bit_?" a familiar voice repeated from behind. Gabby looked over her shoulder and realized Dizzy was behind her, holding the end of Gabby's long ponytail in her hands, and she was looking at it in disgust. " _Look_ at these dead ends! And it's more than uneven. This strand must be at _least_ two inches shorter than this part. That's it. You need a haircut. Come on." With that, Dizzy released Gabby's hair and grabbed her hand, pulling her across the room toward one of the salon-style chairs.

"Wait, what?" Gabby asked in bewilderment, but she was suddenly already sitting in the chair. "Um, you're going to cut my hair?" she asked uncertainly.

"Don't look so nervous." Evie assured her with a laugh, coming to stand by them. "Dizzy cuts and styles my hair all the time. And you _know_ how picky I am with my hair."

That statement made Gabby feel a little better, because she did indeed know how picky Evie was with her hair. But the only people who'd ever cut her hair in the past was her mom,…and her dad. And obviously the one time Gaston cut her hair hadn't gone very well.

Dizzy pulled the ponytail out of Gabby's hair and handed it to her, letting the long, black hair flow over the back of the chair.

"How short do you want it?" Dizzy asked, quickly running a brush through Gabby's hair, though it got caught a few times in tangles and knots.

"Um,…not too short." Gabby answered. "At least shoulder-length or longer, please. Preferably longer."

"No problem." Dizzy grinned. "It looks like we'll at least have to cut it to the middle of your back. That's about…seven inches off, give or take."

"Wow." Evie stated, staring at the back of Gabby's hair as she stood next to Dizzy. "I've always known you have long hair, but I've never seen it out of a ponytail before."

Gabby didn't comment, she just remained silent as she heard the _snip-snip_ of scissors. She ignored the long strands of black hair falling to the floor around her and just stared around the messy, colorful room.

It took a couple hours, because Dizzy begged Gabby to let her also style her hair. Gabby agreed, but asked that it be simple because she'd probably end up pulling it into a ponytail later, anyway.

"Okay. Done!" Dizzy exclaimed excitedly, bouncing around Gabby's chair to see the front. "You can look now." Dizzy told her, waving a hand toward a broken mirror nearby.

Gabby smiled slightly, amused by Dizzy's excitement, as she stood up and approached the mirror. She had to bend down slightly to see into the broken mirror. She pulled her hair in front of her shoulders to get a better look.

Her black hair was smooth now, instead of frizzy like it'd been the last few years. It was loosely curled and stopped just below her shoulder blades. Dizzy had also loosely pulled the strands around her face back into a mini ponytail.

"Wow." Gabby stated in amazement after several long moments. She didn't normally look at her reflection, but she liked what her hair looked like now. And it felt soft…like her mother's used to.

"Do you like it?" Dizzy asked eagerly.

"I love it." Gabby answered honestly, standing up straight and smiling at the little girl. She really wanted to do something to thank Dizzy, but she didn't have anything on her that was worth much, and she didn't have any money. She'd have to come back soon, maybe with some food or something. "Thank you."

"No problem." Dizzy beamed happily. "I enjoyed it. And no offense, but your hair looks much better now."

Gabby laughed, looking down sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"I don't suppose you'd let me put makeup on you." Evie suggested, looking at Gabby with a smile. "Some eye makeup would really help make your blue eyes pop. Maybe black or gold."

Gabby rolled her eyes slightly. "No. One step at a time."

Gabby and Evie hung out with Dizzy for a little bit longer before leaving. Gabby snatched a few things in the market as the two girls made their way home. She didn't see Jay until they reached the Junk Shop. She said goodbye to Evie, who continued on her way to her castle, before walking into the shop.

Jay glanced up from where he was putting stuff on a shelf. He did a double take and stared at her for a few moments.

"What?" Gabby asked warily as Gingersnap landed on her shoulder. She pulled out some crackers she'd stolen and fed one to the parrot.

Jay blinked, his eyes roaming over Gabby's face, head, and shoulders. "Your hair's different."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Good eye, genius. I got a haircut." She approached the shelf he was at and began pulling out stuff she'd managed to steal so she could place it on the shelf. "Does it look okay?"

Jay was silent as he helped her arrange the new merchandise. Finally, he answered quietly, "Yeah, it looks good."

 **AN: And Gabby meets Dizzy! Please take a moment to leave a review and let me know what you all thought! I really appreciate it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch 8 (Still 2014)**

"So, I was thinking cheese sandwiches for dinner. Unless you can grab something to add to them between here and the shop." Gabby suggested as her and Jay walked back to the Junk Shop.

"Great. Cheese sandwiches. Are you going to cook them in the frying pan?" Jay asked.

"I might." Gabby answered teasingly. "Why? Would you prefer it if I cooked them?"

"Yep." Jay smirked, glancing at her briefly.

Gabby sighed heavily. "Oh, I _suppose_ I could do that, then."

They rounded the last corner that would take them to the shop when Jay suddenly stuck his arm out to stop Gabby. She bumped into his elbow and looked up at him curiously. He was glaring straight ahead through narrowed eyes. When Gabby followed his gaze, she saw what was making him so angry.

Harry Hook was wandering around near the Junk Shop, looking as if he didn't have a particular destination or goal in mind. He was just sauntering about down the lane, looking into the windows of any shop or building he passed.

Jay growled under his breath for a moment. "Come on." he ordered quietly before he stormed down the lane toward the shop.

"Hook!" Jay called. Harry stopped and looked casually over his shoulder at them. He instantly grinned and turned to face them. Gabby followed Jay cautiously, keeping a wary eye on Harry the whole time.

"Ah, Jay. Gabrielle. What can I do for you?" Harry asked sarcastically, waving his fake hook with a flourish.

"I was about to ask you the same." Jay countered harshly, crossing his arms over his chest. "What are you doing here? Outside my dad's shop?" Gabby couldn't help glancing sideways at Jay's arms. The muscles of his arms were firm and bulging in his leather vest, and he looked very intimidating. Of course, Harry wasn't as easily intimidated as Gabby was.

"Oh, just…exploring." Harry answered vaguely.

"Exploring what?" Jay asked suspiciously. "What could you possibly be exploring around here?"

"Well, me and Uma are in need of our own territory." Harry explained. "So, I was just lookin' to see if there's anything around here we'd be interested in."

"You're not finding a damn thing here." Jay snapped. "If anyone's claiming this area as part of their territory, it's _us_. Mal and I have already discussed that."

"Ah, yes. I forgot about your little… _adventure_." Harry agreed mockingly. "And now you're forming your own gang? I suppose your next adventure will be in _Bore-adon_ with all the other little goodie-goodies."

"Go ahead, mock us. At least I'm not Uma's little _sidekick_." Jay taunted with a small smirk.

Harry's own smirk fell as he glared at Jay. "I'm _not_ her sidekick. I'm her first mate." he argued.

"Yeah, I can _totally_ see the difference between the two." Jay agreed sarcastically. "Can't you, Gabby? He might as well be her henchman. Then, she'd be just like her mom. He looks about as ugly as an eel."

Harry narrowed his eyes angrily. "Considering who you call your henchman, I can easily say I'm not in the same category. Your little henchman's scared of her own shadow." he sneered, glancing at Gabby.

Gabby instantly looked down at her feet, taking a small step back.

"Get the hell out of here." Jay snapped, taking a threatening step forward as his fists clenched at his sides. "Before I spear you with your own hook."

Harry held up his hand and hook in a symbol of mock surrender, smirking at Jay as he walked around him and headed back toward the main part of the Isle. Jay watched him until he disappeared from view, then he hurried into the shop with Gabby on his heels. The moment they entered the shop, Gingersnap swooped in and perched on Gabby's shoulder.

Jay quickly emptied his pockets of the things he'd managed to steal throughout the day, placing them on the front counter. Jafar must have been in the back or kitchen, because Gabby could hear a couple voices in the kitchen.

"I'm going to track down Mal." Jay told Gabby as she approached the counter to empty her own pockets. "I need to tell her Harry and Uma are looking into territory around here. We need to have a meeting with Carlos and Evie about where we want to set up our territory."

Gabby nodded. "Go ahead. I'll put this stuff on shelves and start on dinner. Just keep me posted on any meetings and things."

"Sure thing." Jay agreed with a nod, turning on his heel and leaving the store again.

*~0~*

Gabby warily peaked around the corner when she heard the shop's front door slam shut. Jay was stomping toward the back of the shop, and after a moments hesitation, Gabby slowly followed him. She found him in the kitchen, searching the empty cabinets and slamming them shut.

"What happened?" she asked hesitantly.

Jay shot her a sharp look over his shoulder before going back to searching. After a moment, he asked, "What's for dinner?"

"I-I haven't started it yet. I was-I can start now." she cut off her explanation, knowing Jay was too irritated to listen to excuses. She grabbed a pan and the ingredients and began cooking. Jay hopped up onto the counter next to the stove to watch her stirring the food in the pan. Glancing up at him, she realized what she might have mistaken as a shadow on his face earlier was the beginnings of a bruise around his eye. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Jay sighed. "Just a…minor scuffle with some of Uma's crew."

Gabby fixed her eyes on the food, biting her lip nervously. "Who was involved?"

"Me, Mal, and Carlos against Harry and a couple of his pirates." Jay explained like it was nothing.

That made Gabby a bit more nervous. Nearly everyone in Uma's crew was physically competitive; good at fighting and handling swords. Mal's gang wasn't quite as evenly matched. Jay and Mal could hold their own easily in a fight. Evie could if she was motivated and had things to use in the fight. Carlos and Gabby weren't nearly as good, though Carlos was smart enough to outwit his opponent most times. Gabby was too cowardly to be able to do anything useful most times. She just froze up and waited for the beating; a habit from growing up with her father she still couldn't seem to shake.

Gangs had been popping up a lot lately. Other than Mal and Uma's gangs, there were a few others, as well. Harry's older sister, Harriet Hook, had started her own pirate crew made of the children of Captain Hook's crew, including a couple people called Sammy Smee and Big Murph. Jay didn't consider them much of a threat, since Harriet was the oldest member at 15, and it's youngest members were only 10. Gabby had also heard from Jay that two of her brothers, the twins, had joined a gang with some girl named Mad Maddy, along with Anthony Tremaine and Ginny Gothel.

Because of all these gangs suddenly fighting for their own territories, there had been quite a few "scuffles", as Jay called them. Some of them were a bit more serious than scuffles, in Gabby's opinion, but at least no one had been stabbed. Yet.

Gabby glanced over at Jay again.

"Has Mal maybe considered…bringing more people in?" she asked hesitantly.

Jay's eyes moved from the pan to her face. "Like who?"

Gabby shrugged, her eyes fixed on the sizzling food in the pan. "No one specific. It's just…we're at a bit of a disadvantage, aren't we? Most of the other gangs are bigger than ours, and some have strong fighters. You and Mal are the only real fighters in the gang."

Jay stared at her for a moment. "Most of the gangs aren't that much bigger than us. Mad Maddy's gang only has five members, like us. Harriet has a few more, but most of them are kids. They're hardly a threat. And Uma's gang only has a few more members than us."

"Yeah, but she's accepting new members all the time. And they can all fight." Gabby pointed out quietly.

"So what? Yeah, me and Mal are the only ones who can fistfight, and we're the most skilled with swords, but the rest of you have your own strengths that come in handy. You and Carlos rigged the hideout's secret entrance." Jay pointed out. "Mal's smart in forming a gang that has a collection of skills instead of just one. It comes in handy in the long run. We're smarter _and_ stronger than the other gangs."

Gabby nodded slowly in agreement. "I suppose you have a point…Can I suggest something, though?"

"Depends what it is." Jay told her, leaning over and snatching some food from the pan before she could swat his hand away.

"Can we push our borders out a bit to include Curl Up & Dye in our territory?" she asked quietly, still looking at the pan.

Jay was quiet as he chewed thoughtfully. "That's Tremaine's hair place, right?" he asked, to which Gabby nodded. "I think Evie mentioned that. I suppose I could mention it to Mal."

Gabby relaxed slightly with a sigh of relief. Nodding, she turned off the stove and began getting plates from the cupboard above her head.

*~0~*

Gabby hurried up the steps, her brown, knee-high boots clomping on the metal stairs. As soon as she reached the top and hurried into the hideout, Gingersnap swooped off her shoulder and disappeared into one of the rooms while Gabby headed toward her corner.

She heard a quiet scuffle, which she figured was Gingersnap. Then, suddenly, her parrot's familiar voice shrieked, "Blood!"

Gabby paused before hurrying into the room it sounded like it was coming from. Before she entered the room she heard another familiar voice.

"Shut up, you birdbrain! I'm fine!"

There was a moment of silence before a dog bark came from the same room, then Gingersnap shrieked, "Dog!"

"Where?" the same familiar voice yelped.

Gingersnap started laughing just as Gabby entered the room. Gingersnap swooped over and landed on her shoulder, still laughing, while Gabby stared at Carlos. The boy was sitting on the floor across the room, looking around frantically for a dog that didn't exist. When he saw her standing in the doorway, he quickly pulled a blanket over one of his legs.

"Um, what's going on?" Gabby asked hesitantly.

"Uh, nothing aside from your parrot being a jerk." Carlos stuttered slightly, glaring at the parrot on Gabby's shoulder.

Gabby glanced at her faithful parrot, remembering what had urged her to enter the room. Gingersnap had screamed something about blood. Looking back over at Carlos, she saw a rag covered in blood. "Are you hurt?"

Carlos looked up at her and sighed in defeat. "It's just a scratch." he assured her, though his voice caught in his throat. "I'm fine."

Gabby's eyes traveled over the many blood-stained rags. "That's a lot of blood for just a scratch. Can I see it?"

Carlos looked away. "I'm fine, really. Just let it go, Gabby."

"I patch Jay up all the time." she pointed out. "Why can't I help you?"

Carlos glanced over at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Villains don't help each other."

Gabby stared at him for a long moment, unsure why it felt like someone had punched her in the gut. "I won't tell if you won't." she finally said.

Carlos stared down at his lap for a long, silent moment before he finally sighed and nodded once. Gabby took that as her okay and slowly approached him. She knelt on the ground next to him and pulled the blanket off his lap. What she saw made her stomach clench with disgust and horror.

On either side of Carlos's calf were two bloody lines of torn flesh. Dried blood was smeared over Carlos's leg, pants, socks, and shoes, and more blood continued to trickle from the wounds.

"What happened?" Gabby breathed in horror, already grabbing one of the cleaner rags to gently dab at the fresh blood.

"My mom has fur traps in her fur coat closet." Carlos explained. Gabby almost gagged in disgust. With a hunter for a father, Gabby had seen a couple fur traps in her life, and she'd seen what they do to animals.

"And you got caught in one?" she whispered, already feeling like she knew the answer.

Carlos nodded silently.

"And your mom didn't help at all?" Gabby checked, almost but not quite surprised. She grabbed a spare piece of fabric on the floor nearby and carefully began wrapping it around Carlos's injured leg.

Carlos rolled his eyes slightly. " _After_ she checked I hadn't stained her precious fur coats, she helped me out of the trap. There wasn't much I could do to take care of it at home, so I came here. Didn't expect anyone else to be here."

"Well, sorry I bothered you." Gabby told him quietly. "I'll leave you alone after I've finished."

"You don't have to." Carlos said quietly after a few moments of silence. "Leave, I mean. I just don't want the others to think I'm weak."

Gabby looked up and stared at Carlos's face. At thirteen years old, Carlos was the youngest in their gang. And he looked it. With the short, almost scrawny stature, baby-like face, big brown eyes, and freckles he looked like an innocent child. It was hard to tell who was the weakest, physically, between him and Gabby. But on the Isle, you can't be weak. If you're weak, people hurt you or take advantage of you. You won't survive if you're weak. Gabby was amazed she'd survived this long, though she accredited it to Jay, and the others.

"I know."

*~0~*

Gabby shifted slightly in her seat, leaning back more into the uncomfortable metal back of the rusty old fold up chair. She had one leg curled under her with her other leg bent up with her heel resting on the edge of the seat. She was lost in her thoughts, hardly noticing the chill in the air as she stared out into the distance.

The sun was setting behind the distant land that is Auradon, the sky a dark reddish-orange illuminating the dark navy and black mountain peaks. She could barely see the dark outlines of the many lands, castles, and towns; which had just minutes before been outlined by the sun's light.

It didn't look very far away; maybe ten miles between the shores of the Isle of the Lost and Auradon. But it may as well be another world given they were separated by an ocean that very few could swim, even if the barrier would miraculously disappear.

Gabby sighed, leaning forward and resting her chin on her knee. Her vision wavered slightly as her mind went crazy with daydreams and imaginations. She imagined herself as a young girl, black hair in a braid, running around a yard that was bordered by a small cabin and an endless forest. Unlike the forest on the Isle, which was dark, dreary, and creepy; the forest she was imagining was bright and filled with towering, green trees with little animals scurrying about.

Little Gabby in her imagination spun around and looked toward the backdoor of the cabin. Standing in the doorway was a beautiful woman with long, blonde hair blowing in the breeze and warm brown eyes. She was smiling at Gabby in a way that was only a distant memory in Gabby's life.

A clang made Gabby jump, her mind jerking back into the present. She took a deep breath to compose herself as she glanced over at Jay, who had just appeared at her side, probably climbing the flight of stairs to the highest landing where Gabby was sitting.

"What are you doing?" Jay asked, taking a bite out of a bruised apple while tossing a second one at Gabby. She barely brought her hands up in time to stop it from smashing into her face.

She was quiet for a few moments, clinging to her daydream before looking down at the bruised, slightly squishy apple in her lap. "Nothing. Just hanging out." she answered quietly.

"Out here? Why not go inside?" Jay asked, nodding toward the door into their hideout.

Gabby shrugged, slowly spinning the apple in her hands. Like a magnet, her eyes slowly lifted until she was once again staring out across the ocean at Auradon.

"You like it out here, don't you?" Jay guessed, leaning forward with his elbows on the railing in front of them.

"What makes you say that?" Gabby asked.

"You're out here a lot. One time I came here and you were asleep in that chair." Jay explained, also staring out at Auradon.

Gabby blushed and lowered her eyes again. She didn't respond to his comment. There was no need to.

"What do you think it's like over there?" Jay asked after a few minutes of silence.

Gabby once again looked out toward Auradon. She thought back to her daydream. She thought about everything she'd ever been told about Auradon. She thought about the TV stations they got from Auradon.

"Good." she finally answered distractedly. "Nice." To Jay, it would be an insult, a bad thing. But to her, it wasn't.

Jay glanced over his shoulder at Gabby, noticing her staring out at Auradon. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment before glancing at Auradon and then back at her.

"Wait a minute-do you _want_ to live over there?" Jay suddenly demanded, turning to face her in shock.

Gabby's blue eyes widened and shot to his face, staring at him in almost horror. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her eyes returned to normal as she once again looked out into the distance. Finally, she sighed.

"Yes and no." she finally answered quietly.

Jay eyed her curiously. "Why "yes"?"

Gabby was still staring at the mainland. "I guess…maybe I'd fit in more over there."

"Fit in?" Jay repeated in disgust. "Over there? Where everyone's a goody-goody? But that would be so boring!"

"For you." Gabby countered, looking at him. "In case you haven't noticed, Jay, I don't belong here. I _hate_ it here. I'm not a villain. I hate fighting, and stealing. I'm almost always scared, so much so I can never fight back when someone picks on me." she paused to take a breath before adding quietly, "I wouldn't have to worry about that over in Auradon." Then she scoffed. "Of course, I still probably wouldn't fit in over there."

Jay tilted his head. From everything she'd just said, he would've thought she'd fit in perfectly in Auradon. "How do you figure?"

Gabby shrugged. "I may not like stealing, but I do it because I need to in order to survive. Even if my intentions are good, if I stole something over in Auradon I'd get shipped back over here. Stupid hypocrites." she grumbled more to herself.

Jay smiled slightly. An angry Gabby was mildly entertaining. At least to him. "Are the "stupid hypocrites" the reason behind your "no" answer?" he asked jokingly.

Surprisingly, Gabby didn't smile. She looked back down at her lap. "Pretty much."

Jay leaned back against the railing, crossing his arms casually over his chest. "What do you find so hypocritical about the people in Auradon?" he asked curiously. As much as he hated the good guys across the ocean, being hypocritical was not one of the traits he'd label them with.

Gabby stared down at her apple, flicking the stem with her thumb. "My mom should never have been on the Isle." she finally whispered.

Jay's smile fell from his face. Apart from the occasional comment, Gabby rarely talked about her mom. All he knew about her was the role she played in Gabby's education. "You don't talk about your mom. She died, right?" he asked, trying not to care about the fact that it was probably a painful subject. Villains don't care about causing pain.

Gabby swallowed thickly. "My mom wasn't a villain." she told him. "She shouldn't have been put here." Looking up, blue eyes met brown. "My mom, Rosalie, was arrested for stealing. Back when she was an orphaned teenager, living on the streets and starving. She stole food to eat. And when the Isle was created some twenty years ago, she was thrown here with criminals and murderers. Why did my mom get thrown here and Aladdin didn't? He did the same thing. He was poor, living on the streets, and he stole to survive, yet he becomes Sultan of Agrabah. How is that fair?"

Jay stared at her silently for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of his father's enemy. "It's not. But life isn't fair, in case you hadn't noticed."

Gabby nodded slightly, silently agreeing.

"So, if you're mom's not really a villain, what was she doing shacking up with Gaston?" Jay asked curiously, still leaning back against the railing.

Gabby looked up, gazing distractedly across the ocean as her mind's eye traveled back through her memories. Memories of a happier time. "She didn't belong here. She was kind and warm. She didn't fit in. She couldn't have survived. Gaston…offered a better life. He could keep her safe, give her a decent home, and she only had to bear him children and take care of the house; something she actually loved doing. It was the best situation she could've hoped for given the circumstances."

"I'm guessing she was good-looking if Gaston showed an interest." Jay guessed.

Gabby nodded. "Oh, yes. She was beautiful. Long, wavy, blonde hair; tan skin; and chocolate brown eyes. I wished over and over that I could look like her. Instead, I look more like my dad than my brothers do."

"So, the reason you partially don't want to live in Bore-adon is because you feel they wronged your mother by throwing her here." Jay summed up, watching her. She didn't answer, but he saw her eyes narrow slightly as she stared ahead. Being a thief, Jay knew how to read people pretty well, and could easily tell there was more to the story. "Or there's more to it than that." he urged curiously.

Gabby looked down. "Why should I tell you anything?" she asked quietly. "I've probably already told you too much. You already think I'm a weakling."

Jay chewed on her words for a moment, his arms crossed casually over his chest as he looked over at her. "I think your physical strength could use some work." he admitted slowly. "But that doesn't make you weak. You have basic medical knowledge, you know how to make whole meals out of rotten food, you design and sew clothes like Evie, and you've helped Carlos set this place up."

Gabby looked over at him curiously. "You really believe all that?" she asked dubiously.

"Well, I don't just hand out _compliments_." Jay pointed out with a disgusted expression, making Gabby crack a smile.

"Fair enough." she agreed.

"So? What else is it?"

Gabby sighed, looking down at the floor. "My mom…got really sick about six years ago. I'm not sure what it was, I just know it was bad. I did what I could, but I was only eight years old. I tried to take care of her, help her. I made her soup and kept her warm and tried to bring down her fever. I didn't know what to do, though. And my father," Gabby scoffed a short, harsh laugh, "he didn't do a thing. He was just mad at how _inconvenient_ it was for him. With Mom sick, Gaston had no one to cook and clean for him. So he'd make me do it. Kept telling me to leave my mother to either get better on her own or die. Obviously, you know which one eventually happened."

Jay nodded slowly, trying to force down the weak feelings of pity in his gut. "But what does that have to do with Auradon?"

"There's no one on this stupid island to help people." Gabby pointed out. "I couldn't find anyone to help me. There's no doctors or anyone who has medicine, or anyone that would've willingly helped me without expecting something in return. Auradon probably has doctors; medicine. If there was a way for us to…just call for help or something. If I could've contacted Auradon, maybe I could have gotten someone to help my mom. But I couldn't. They've isolated us. And a small part of me hates them for it."

"Then why don't you use that hate?" Jay asked. "Not only did they trap us all here, they're the reason your mother's dead. Especially the Beast. The Beast stole Belle from your dad, killed your dad, then brought him back to life just to throw him on this island with the other villains. And they threw your mom here to die. Why don't you use that anger to become a villain?"

Gabby blinked thoughtfully. "Well,…for starters, I don't care what happened to my dad. My dad's a jerk and he got what he deserved, why should I care what happened to him? He sold me to the highest bidder. But yes, I do feel resentment toward the King for throwing people like my mom here. And then making us kids grow up here, being punished for things that happened before we were born. I don't know, though. I don't _want_ to be evil. I don't want to be a villain. I want…I want to be like my mom. She didn't hate anyone for being thrown here. She took the life she was given and made the best of it. I want to be like that."

Jay stared at Gabby for a long moment. He thought about what to say in response. 'You're already like that'? 'How can you not hate the people who did this to your family?'? 'I'm glad you're not a villain'?

Instead, Jay just shook his head. "You're something else, Gabby."

 **AN: So, we learn a bit more about Gabby's past and her mom, and we get some JayXGabby bonding. Can I just say 'aw'? They're so cute! That's got to earn me some reviews, right? Speaking of which, thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far! I appreciate it more than you can imagine! They make me smile!**

 **Also, with the end of this chapter, we bring 2014 to an end. The next chapter officially begins 2015, and with it the beginning of** _ **Descendants 1**_ **. I'm SO EXCITED!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ch 9 (2015)**

Gabby slipped past a crowded antique booth, easily grabbing an antique teacup and putting it in her pocket. She hurried away before they could notice. She heard loud banging and looked over to see Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos scampering through people's laundry, dancing over the clean clothes and banging sticks on metal buckets that were being used to do the laundry.

Gabby rolled her eyes, grinning slightly. The other four had just got out of school for the day and were mostly messing around; causing mischief, tagging walls, and stealing stuff.

Gingersnap landed on Gabby's shoulder and she glanced at the little parrot. She held out her hand and Gingersnap dropped a gold necklace from her beak into Gabby's hand. "Good girl." Gabby told her.

Moving away from the booths, Gabby paused and watched as Mal and the others lead several people in a dance. When they finished, Mal stole a lollypop from a little boy in a wagon. She held it up like a trophy for the others to see, causing several people to laugh and cheer. Gabby kept a straight face, not quite finding it as amusing as the others as she joined them.

Then, Gabby looked past Mal and saw two grubby men with dull expressions. She tensed and stood up straight while nearly everyone in the crowd ran away in fear, disappearing around corners or inside buildings. Gabby was half-tempted to join them, but she settled for stepping around Jay so he stood between her and the person she knew was walking behind the two grubby men.

Mal dropped her head before spinning around. "Hi, Mom."

Maleficent, the Mistress of Evil herself, pushed her two minions aside and stepped between them, holding her scepter aloft. "Stealing candy, Mal? I'm so disappointed." she mocked.

Mal pouted mockingly before holding the lollypop out toward her mother. "It was from a baby." she told her.

Maleficent smirked. "There's my nasty little girl." she said, taking the candy from Mal's hand. She then spit on it, stuffed it under her armpit, and then held it out toward her minion. "Give it back to the dreadful creature."

"Mom." Mal complained.

"It's the 'deets', Mal, that makes the difference between mean and truly evil." With that, she waved to the mother of the child, who hurried away. "When I was your age, I was cursing entire kingdoms." Maleficent told her daughter, who quoted the last three words after having heard them so many times.

While Maleficent pulled Mal away a few feet to talk, Gabby exchanged a glance with Evie and Carlos, who looked just as nervous and uncomfortable as her. Gabby and Jay stepped a bit closer to Evie and Carlos as they watched mother and daughter talk.

"I'm just trying to teach you the thing that really counts." Maleficent told her daughter. "How to be me."

"I know that." Mal insisted. "And I'll do better."

Gabby and Evie once again exchanged a glance around Carlos's head before looking back at Maleficent.

"Oh!" Maleficent suddenly threw her arms up, making Mal jump. "There's news! I buried the lede." She moved back to her original spot, facing Mal and the others. Gabby kept one eye on her three minions, however, as she noticed them moving around to stand behind her and the others. "You four have been chosen to go to a different school." Maleficent announced, pointing her finger vaguely at the five teens. She then whipped her scepter into her other hand, holding her now-free hand up with a flourish. "In Auradon."

Gabby merely blinked while Evie, Carlos, and Jay tried to run for it, only to be captured and subdued by Maleficent's minions. Mal looked between her mother and her gang a few times before the three teens stopped struggling.

"What?!" Mal exclaimed, gaping at her mom. "I'm not going to some boarding school, filled to the brim with prissy pink princesses." Mal announced in disgust.

"And perfect princes." Evie breathed, stepping forward. Gabby looked down to hide a grin while Mal turned and looked at her in disbelief. Evie deflated slightly with a fake sound of disgust.

"Yeah, and I don't do _uniforms_." Jay pointed out. "Unless it's leather, you feel me?" he added with a laugh, holding his hand up for Carlos or Gabby. Gabby rolled her eyes at him while Carlos stepped forward, looking nervous.

"I read somewhere that they allow _dogs_ in Auradon." he explained. "Mom said they're rabid pack animals who eat boys who don't behave."

Jay smirked at Gabby before stepping up right behind the shorter boy. He gave a loud "Woof!" in his ear, making Carlos jump and smack Jay, who was laughing. Evie was also laughing, and Gabby smacked Jay's shoulder, though her mind was on something else.

"Um, you said the _four_ of us were chosen?" she urged Maleficent. "So, which one wasn't picked?"

"Ah, yes, that's you." Maleficent told her. "Afraid you'll have to sit this one out."

"Lucky." Carlos mumbled.

"Why do we have to go and she doesn't?" Mal demanded.

"Because you were chosen by the future King of Auradon." Maleficent informed them with a slight sneer near the end.

"Well, that explains it." Jay muttered. "Why would Belle and Beast's son bring Gaston's daughter to Auradon?" he added rhetorically, making Gabby look down at her brown boots.

"Well, he can't make us go." Mal argued stubbornly.

"Oh, you're thinking small, pumpkin. It's all about _world domination_." Maleficent looked into the distance for a moment as if imagining all the glorious evil she could accomplish before turning back to them. "Knuckleheads!" she snapped at her minions before turning and walking back toward her home in Bargain Castle. Her minions walked around the group of teens and followed in her wake. "Mal!" she called over her shoulder in a singsong voice. Mal followed her mom.

Gabby exchanged glances with Jay, Carlos, and Evie before they all followed the purple-haired girl.

"So, 'world domination'?" Gabby whispered from her spot walking between Jay and Carlos. "What evil plot do you think Maleficent has cooking this time?"

"Who knows?" Jay asked in a bored voice. "Wanna trade places with me?" he asked jokingly, throwing an arm over Gabby's shoulder. "You can go and I'll stay here."

Gabby didn't answer, because she honestly would _love_ to trade places with him. But she doubted that would be allowed.

They followed Maleficent to her home in Bargain Castle, and were surprised to find Jafar, Cruella, and the Evil Queen already there waiting for them. Gabby followed the others in last and they approached Maleficent, who was already reclined in her thrown of sorts. She'd picked up a nail file and was working on one of her nails. Mal lead the other teens to gather around her mother. Gabby stayed back, unsure if she was even supposed to be present since she hadn't been chosen to go to Auradon.

"You will go," Maleficent explained when the other four gathered around her. "you will find the Fairy Godmother, and you will bring me back her magic wand." She paused to blow on her nails before looking down at the teenagers. "Easy peasy."

"What's in it for us?" Mal asked dubiously, one hand on her hip. Gabby glanced over her shoulder and saw Jafar stirring something on a stove. When he caught her eye, he instantly waved her over and stepped back from the stove. Gabby rolled her eyes, but complied as she approached the pot cooking on the stove. She sniffed it, wrinkled her nose, and grabbed a spice above the stove to add.

Maleficent shrugged. "Matching thrones. Hers and Hers crowns." she suggested.

"Um, I-I think she meant _us_." Carlos pointed out quietly, him and Mal both moving a finger in a circle to indicate the four teenagers.

Maleficent tossed the nail file over her shoulder, stood up, and waved Mal forward with a hand, and Mal stepped forward like a little puppet on a string. "It's all about you and me, baby." Maleficent told her daughter, leaning forward on the rail. "Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?"

"Well, yeah, I mean who does-"

"Well, then, get me the wand!" Maleficent snapped. "And you and I can see all that and so much more."

Gabby subtly rolled her eyes as Jay joined her and Jafar at the stove. She glared lightly at him when he snatched some of Maleficent's food from the shelf to eat.

"And with that wand, and my scepter, I will be able to bend both good and evil _to my will_!" Maleficent exclaimed.

"Our will." the Evil Queen called, lowering the handheld mirror she'd been looking into at the table.

Cruella pointed at her in agreement while Jafar, Jay, and Gabby turned to look at Maleficent.

"Our will, our will." Maleficent agreed dully before snapping her fingers, pulling Mal's attention back to her. "And if you refuse, you're grounded for the rest of your life, missy."

"Wha-" Mal complained. "Mo-"

Maleficent silenced her, and then they entered into an intense staring contest of sorts. Gabby noticed Maleficent's eyes glow green when she glanced over at them, but she couldn't see Mal's eyes through the back of her head. She assumed Mal's eyes were also glowing green, though, since she'd seen Mal's eyes glow a few times in the past.

After a few moments, Mal dropped her head in defeat. "Ugh, fine, whatever."

"I win."

"Evie!" the Evil Queen called from her seat, causing Evie to scamper over to her. "My little evilette in training." she cooed as Evie sat in a chair in front of her mother. "You just find yourself a prince with a _big_ castle, and a mother-in-law wing,-"

"And lots and lots of mirrors!" Evie chorused with her mother, sounding more like a parrot than Gingersnap.

Evie did a slightly-ditzy giggle until her mother snapped, "No laughing! Wrinkles!"

Gabby rolled her eyes at the pot she was stirring. She tried a quick taste off the wooden spoon and, deciding it was done, she turned off the stove and jerked her head at it for Jafar to know it was done. He practically pounced on it, eating the food fresh from the pot.

"Well, they're not taking my Carlos because I'd miss him too much." Cruella cooed, stroking her son's hair even as he used a hairbrush on her fur coat.

"Really, Mom?" Carlos asked, his big brown eyes so innocent that Gabby's gut twisted. She couldn't help thinking of all the blood that time she'd patched him up after getting his leg stuck in his mom's fur traps.

"Yes!" Cruella answered. "Who would touch up my roots, fluff my fur, and-" she tossed her leg up for his arms to catch, "scrape the bunions off my feet?"

Gabby wrinkled her nose, exchanging a disgusted expression with Jay. Carlos, while not looking disgusted, was clearly not pleased with her answer.

"Yeah, maybe a new school wouldn't be the worst thing." Carlos muttered.

"Carlos, they allow dogs in Auradon." Cruella pointed out sweetly, instantly striking terror into her son.

"Oh, no! I'm not going!" Carlos insisted, looking back at Maleficent, causing her to groan in annoyance.

"Well, Jay isn't going either." Jafar decided, making Jay look at his dad in surprise. "I need him to stock the shelves in my store. This little wench certainly won't collect enough." Jafar announced, gesturing to Gabby. He then stepped past Gabby, pulling Jay aside by the arm. "What did you score?" Jafar demanded quietly, though everyone could still hear. Jay smirked and started pulling things out of his vest and pockets. He pulled out a rag and a wooden spoon, which Jafar clearly thought was mediocre, until Jay suddenly pulled out an old-looking golden lamp.

Jafar gasped, snatching it from him. "A lamp?" He then frantically started rubbing the lamp, making Gabby roll her eyes. She'd recently come to the conclusion that if there was no magic on the Isle, she highly doubted there would be a genie in that old lamp.

"Dad." Jay said awkwardly. "I already tried." he admitted. Jafar made a sound of disgust and disappointment, tossing the lamp in the air for Jay to catch.

"Evie's not going anywhere until we get rid of this unibrow." Evil Queen added, making Evie touch her face self-consciously. Gabby wasn't completely sure what a unibrow was.

"What is wrong with you all?" Maleficent shouted. "People used to cower at the mention of our names!" she ranted, grabbing Mal's arm and practically throwing her into a nearby chair. "For 20 years, I have searched for a way off this island. For 20 years, they have robbed us of our revenge. Revenge on Snow White and her horrible little men." she added to Evil Queen.

"Ow!" Evil Queen grimaced at the reminder.

"Revenge on Aladdin and his bloated genie!"

"I will-" Jafar shouted, lifting his wooden spoon as if to hit someone. Gabby flinched away instinctively while Jay put his hands up.

"Pop." he warned, calming his father down.

"Revenge on every sneaky Dalmatian that escaped your clutches."

"Oh, but they didn't get Baby." Cruella exclaimed, gesturing to the stuffed toy Dalmatian on her shoulder. "They didn't get the…They didn't get the baby!" she cackled deliriously. Gabby met Carlos's eyes in bewildered confusion, while he just looked humiliated by his mother's antics.

"And I, Maleficent, the evilest of them all," Maleficent continued, sitting with Evil Queen and taking the mirror out of her hand to look at her reflection, "I will finally have my revenge on Sleeping Beauty and her relentless little prince."

The group of villains seemed much more agreeable after Maleficent's little speech. Gabby had to hand it to her, she knew how to rally support. Evil Queen proceeded to give Evie her Magic Mirror, which was much smaller than it used to be and had cracks in the glass. Maleficent gave Mal her spell book, which she kept in a fridge for some reason. Their planning was put to an end by a car horn sounding from outside.

"Whoo! Let's get this party started!" Jay exclaimed, actually seeming a bit excited. The kids split off to quickly talk with their parents, so Jay approached his dad and Gabby, who had unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest.

"Now, recite our mantra." Jafar ordered his son.

"There's no team in 'I'." Jay quoted easily.

"Oh, run along. You're making me tear up." Jafar joked. Gabby rolled her eyes slightly. She realized she'd been doing that a lot.

"My bag." Jay said, clearly telling his dad to grab it. Jafar picked it up and threw it at Gabby, who barely caught it out of surprise. She saw Jafar looking around and snatching things to stuff in his pockets. She shook her head, hurrying after Jay.

By the time she followed him outside, she faltered at the sight of the nice, shiny, black limo parked outside the castle. A crowd had gathered around it out of curiosity. She saw Jay hanging around in front of it. He put his hat on the hood for a moment before grabbing it and moving around the limo to join her. He'd probably snatched something.

"So, um, wow. Auradon." Gabby stuttered, unsure of what to say, but knowing she didn't have much time.

Jay's grin faltered slightly. "Yeah, I, uh, I guess-"

"Come back here now!" Cruella screeched as Carlos ran to the limo, tossing a garbage bag of his things into the trunk before shoving between Jay and Gabby to jump into the back seat.

Gabby cleared her throat, tossing Jay's bag into the trunk. "Well, good luck. See you soon. I guess." she muttered, feeling more shaken than she should have. This just seemed to be happening so fast.

Jay grinned at her, patting her on the shoulder. "Chill out, Gab. We'll be back before you know it, and everything will be a thousand times better than it was."

Gabby nodded silently, though she doubted her definition of "better" was the same as his. She stepped back from the limo and Jay climbed into the backseat with Mal and the others. The door slammed shut and the driver got in the front seat. The engine roared to life and pulled away smoothly. Jafar, Evil Queen, and Cruella called out their bizarre versions of goodbyes, but Gabby remained where she was, her arms crossed nervously over her chest. She felt as if she'd been ripped open, shaky and unsteady on a small piece of crumbling ground.

Feeling the burn of eyes on her, Gabby glanced around until she found who was staring at her. She met the cold, ice-blue eyes of Harry Hook as he smirked at her. Standing next to him was Uma, though she was watching the limo as it turned a corner and drove out of sight.

Gabby swallowed a lump in her throat. She was alone now. She didn't have the others to watch her back anymore. She was alone and vulnerable.

"Well, now that's done." Jafar said, approached Gabby. "Back to work. And you're going to have to work extra hard to make up for Jay being gone. Put that birdbrain to good use and start collecting some useful merchandise." Jafar ordered, glaring at Gingersnap, who was still perched on Gabby's shoulder.

Gingersnap responded by making a farting noise at him.

"Yes, sir." Gabby answered quickly, reaching up with a hand to cover Gingersnap's face with her palm. She turned and quickly ducked into a back alley.

"Don't worry, girl. At least we know neither of us takes after our fathers." Gabby assured her trusted parrot, knowing Gingersnap's father; Jafar's parrot Iago, had gotten as fat and lazy as his master.

As she passed a gap between two buildings, Gabby glanced out toward Auradon. She could've sworn she could see a gold, glittering bridge spanning the distance between the Isle and Auradon; like magic.

Staring out across the ocean, she couldn't help silently wishing it could be her going to Auradon.

*~0~*

Gabby slipped around a corner and ducked behind some ragged laundry hanging from a clothesline. Gingersnap mumbled something, but she fell silent when Gabby held a finger to her lips.

Rushed footsteps hurried past the alley before silence fell. Gabby held her breath for a few moments before sighing in relief, slouching against the wall.

She laughed quietly before reaching into her red leather jacket and pulling out the antique clock she'd snatched. This, and the few others things she'd managed to steal during the day, should be enough to keep Jafar content for the day. Now she just needed to get something for dinner.

Turning away from the alley's entrance, Gabby pushed through a couple more ragged clothes only to smack into someone's back.

Gabby stumbled back as the person spun around, and her heart sank.

In the week since Jay and the others were shipped off to Auradon, Gabby had been run ragged. She was out nearly all day everyday trying to steal enough goods to keep Jafar happy, as well as cooking at least two meals a day for him, and keeping the shop clean. Then, at the end of every night she would crawl under her shelf in the Junk Shop and fall into a fitful sleep. You'd think she'd be more comfortable without Jay there to take up most of the room, but it just made her feel lonely and cold.

She'd also gone out of her way to avoid any people who might give her problems, since she no longer had anyone who might stick up for her.

Bumping into Harry Hook was clearly a sign that her luck had run out.

At the sight of her, Harry and his two companions, a couple young pirates, smirked or cackled.

"Well, well, look who we have here." Harry laughed. "Finally crawled out of whatever hole you've been hiding in, eh?"

Gabby slowly took a step back as the three boys stepped toward her, her body rigid with tension as she tried to keep an eye on all of them.

"I bet you're wishing you'd taken me up on that little offer I made you a couple years ago." Harry commented. "But it's too late now. I don't pick who joins us; Uma does. So now you're _all alone_."

Gingersnap lowered her head and fluffed out her feathers on Gabby's shoulder, making a growling noise. Harry eyed the parrot warily for a moment.

"Jonas, deal with the bird." Harry ordered.

A boy with dark hair in cornrows smirked and stepped closer to Gabby. She instinctively threw her hands up while backing into a wall. The other boy grabbed one of her arms and slammed it back against the wall while Jonas snatched Gingersnap off Gabby's shoulder, holding her with both hands.

"No! Let her go!" Gabby yelled desperately, hearing Gingersnap screeching in protest.

"Now, now." Harry cooed, stepping forward and tracing his hook down Gabby's cheek. "We won't hurt her…much."

Suddenly, a scream made Gabby, Harry, and the other boy look over. Jonas was struggling with Gingersnap, trying to rip his hand free from where her sharp beak had stabbed into his hand. When he finally got his hand free, Gingersnap thrashed and wiggled until she was free and flew off into the sky. Jonas waved his hand a bit before putting the bleeding wound to his mouth, his eyes narrowed angrily at Gabby.

Harry also turned his ice-blue eyes back to her. "It seems you'll have to pay for your bird's crimes." he told her lowly.

Gabby swallowed, pressing back into the wall.

The other boy raised his fist. Gabby panicked and kicked her foot out, managing to smash the toe of her boot into his knee. He yelped and leapt back, releasing Gabby as Harry's hand went to her throat to keep her in place.

Gabby started throwing random punches at Harry's chest, but he merely smirked at her. He raised his hook, aiming to slash it down on her. Gabby's blue eyes widened as she stared up at the shining, silver hook in slow motion, waiting for it to tear into her skin.

A screech echoed through the alley and there was a flash of red.

Harry yelled in shock, backing away and releasing Gabby's throat. She slouched against the wall before standing straight and looking around in confusion.

Harry had backed away from her and was glaring up at the sky. Jonas and the other boy were also staring upward, but were more shocked than angry like Harry. Slowly, Gabby followed their gazes.

Gingersnap was flying in a circle several feet above their heads, holding something silver and shiny. She then swooped down and landed on Gabby's shoulder, dropping her prize into Gabby's hands.

It was Harry's hook.

Gabby gaped down at the hook for a moment before looking up. Harry and the two boys were staring between her and the hook. Jonas and the other boy both glanced nervously at Harry, who appeared frozen.

Just as Gabby thought she might have the upper hand. Harry reached back with both hands and fisted his companions' shirt collars and yanked them forward. "Jonas! Gonzo! _Get my bloody hook back!_ "

The two boys hesitated before launching themselves at Gabby. Gingersnap screeched and flew off Gabby's shoulder, but instead of escaping, she launched herself at Jonas's face. He screamed as she slashed her sharp talons down his face, but Gabby had to focus on the other boy-Gonzo-as he came at her.

She lashed the hook out at him, which made him back off slightly. She took full advantage of the weapon she now had and continued slashing the hook back and forth as she stepped away from the wall.

"Back off!" she ordered, feeling a tiny hint of bravery for once in her life as the boys backed off. Gingersnap returned to Gabby's shoulder since Jonas had hidden behind Harry, holding his bleeding cheek with a hand.

"Harry?" a new voice called. Gabby tensed when she saw a couple girl pirates come running up from behind the boys. Harry glanced at them before smirking at Gabby.

"You sure you don't want to stand down, now?" Harry asked arrogantly.

Gabby swallowed, glancing around at the five faces glaring at her. She slowly took a step back as she tried to decide what to do.

Then, she threw Harry's hook as far over their heads as she could. While they were all distracted, she turned and raced as fast as she could through the marketplace. She ducked and dodged through alleys and around buildings until she finally reached Jafar's Junk Shop.

She slammed the door shut behind her and bent over her knees, panting as she waited for the adrenaline to leave her system.

"What took you so long?" Jafar complained, coming out of the kitchen. "I'm starving. Get dinner started. Did you steal anything good?"

Still panting, Gabby stood up straight and began searching her pockets. She pulled out all the things she'd managed to steal and set them on the counter for Jafar to see. He wasn't impressed until she pulled out the antique clock. He hummed and lifted it to eyelevel so he could examine it.

"This might fetch a pretty penny." he decided. "Still not as good of a haul as Jay could get." he added, glaring at Gabby as if Jay leaving was her fault.

Ignoring the jab, Gabby asked, "Does anyone know how long it should take them to steal the wand?"

"A truly evil villain would've already nabbed the wand and taken over the world by now." Jafar said. "Who knows how long it'll take those kids? If Jay has any brains at all, he'll steal the wand right out from under Mal's nose and bring it to me so _I_ can take over!"

Gabby headed for the kitchen with a roll of her eyes. Being evil and taking over the world was all most villains seemed to talk about.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch 10 (Still 2015)**

"Make sure you actually bring in a good haul today. And lock up the shop behind you. We're closed for the day." Jafar ordered, coming out of the back of the shop.

Gabby glanced up from where she'd been cleaning the shelves. "Where are you going?" she asked curiously.

"Not that it's any of your concern, but I'm heading over to Maleficent's place. For some reason, the school in Auradon wants us all to be present for a computer talk thing with our kids." Jafar explained disdainfully.

Gabby perked up. "You're going to have a video chat with Jay and the others?" she checked.

"I guess that's what it's called." Jafar shrugged.

"Could I come?" Gabby asked hesitantly.

"And waste prime thieving hours? Of course not!" Jafar snapped. "I wouldn't be going myself if Maleficent didn't insist. Wants to make it seem like we support our children or some such nonsense."

"Well,…you said it's at Bargain Castle?" Gabby checked, trying to think of something quick. "Maybe I could…offer to clean for Maleficent." she suggested.

Jafar scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You're _my_ slave, not Maleficent's. However,…you could snoop around for some stuff to _steal_." he added thoughtfully. "I'd bet there's some expensive stuff in there."

The thought of getting caught stealing from Maleficent sent a sharp jolt of terror through Gabby's gut, but she was desperate to be present during this video chat. "I-I could try, I suppose." she answered hesitantly.

"Excellent. Then I suppose you could come along. But if you get caught, you're on your own." he added sternly, pointing a finger at Gabby's nose. "If you're caught, I had no part in this plan. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Gabby answered obediently before grabbing her bag and following him quickly from the shop. She locked the door behind them, which took a few minutes, before they hurried down the lane toward Bargain Castle.

Jafar and Gabby were the last two to arrive. Maleficent, Cruella, and the Evil Queen were already huddled around a brand new computer. Gabby heard Maleficent mention some men from Auradon dropped it off that morning and they were scheduled to have the video chat with the kids any minute. They just needed to figure out how to get the computer working.

The computer was set up on the dining room-like table near the middle of the room, and the four villains were crowded around the screen trying to get it working. Gabby wandered around the room for a moment, her eyes casting about quickly for something she could quickly grab before the video chat started so she could focus on Jay and the others when the time came. She spotted a few things on the table right in front of the computer. She hesitated at the thought of blatantly taking something literally in front of Maleficent's eyes, but she was too focused on trying to get the computer working.

Casually strolling over to the table, Gabby sat down on the edge of the table behind the computer. She set her bag on the table next to her and glanced down at the computer that the adults were stilling fussing over. They really were technologically challenged.

Seeing that they were all so focused on the computer, Gabby turned to look at her opposite side. She opened her bag and shifted through it's contents, subtly grabbing an ornate antique teapot in front of her and placing it in her bag. She pulled a jacket inside her bag over the teapot to hide and protect it. She then grabbed a candle by her leg and put it in her bag before closing it. She sighed and looked around again.

"Can I _please_ see a remote?!" Maleficent snapped, causing Evil Queen to quickly hand the remote over Maleficent's shoulder. Jafar and Cruella were sitting on either side of Maleficent trying random buttons. "Is this thing on?" she asked, pointing the remote at the computer, though Gabby noticed the remote was backwards. "It's broken. Ugh! I hate electronic equip-Hey! You. You're a kid!"

Gabby's eyes widened as she realized Maleficent was staring right at her over the computer screen. "Me?" she squeaked before clearing her throat.

"No, the other 90 pound pipsqueak in the room." Maleficent retorted with a roll of her eyes. "You get this working." she ordered.

Gabby hopped off the table and moved around the table. Jafar was watching her carefully, making her even more nervous as she carefully leaned down between him and Maleficent, carefully avoiding her curled horn.

She scanned the keypad on the computer, as well as the two remotes sitting in front of her, completely lost on what to do. Her mind kept repeating on a loop, _'What would Carlos do?'_. The screen was completely black, so there wasn't anything to click with the mouse. That made her wonder…

Leaning closer and biting her lip nervously, she pushed the power button, already feeling like this was wrong.

But the screen turned on and five people appeared on the laptop screen.

"Oh! Evie!" Evil Queen exclaimed excitedly while Jafar practically elbowed Gabby out of the way to see. She quickly backed up a few steps, but her wide eyes remained fixed on the computer screen. "It's Mommy! Look how _beautiful_!" Evil Queen gushed as Evie waved back shyly. "You know what they say. The poison apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Don't you mean the weeds?" Maleficent retorted grumpily, fixing her horns after Evil Queen messed with them.

"Oh! Who's the old bat?" Cruella asked rudely.

While Mal introduced Fairy Godmother, Gabby let her eyes travel among the group. From left to right, it was Evie, Mal, Fairy Godmother, Carlos, and Jay. They all looked the same, but at the same time _so different_. Evie looked much the same. Still dressed in a beautiful blue outfit with perfectly-curled hair and good posture. Mal was wearing a purple dress-like outfit that looked almost perfect for Auradon. Carlos was _holding a dog_. Jay was wearing a crimson and burgundy leather vest without sleeves, and his long hair was hidden under a red beanie.

Fairy Godmother had started the video with a cheerful smile, which vanished after Cruella's comment. It went downhill from there. The four villains continued sneering and poking fun at the older woman, who became incensed and defensive. Gabby expected the others, Mal especially, to laugh and poke fun alongside their parents, but they simply looked uncomfortable. Gabby couldn't stop her eyes from continuing to stray to Jay. Something about him just seemed completely different.

As soon as Fairy Godmother left the screen and Mal greeted her mother, all laughter ceased.

"Mal!" Maleficent snapped. "I m-m-" Evil Queen thumped her horns, "miss you."

Gabby rolled her eyes. That sounded so _very_ believable. Not.

"You children are never far from our thoughts." Jafar added cheerfully, probably to end the tension. Jay looked even more uncomfortable at his father's comment.

"I got it." Maleficent grumbled quietly before adding to Mal in a syrupy-sweet voice, "How long must Mommy wait to see you?"

Mal told them about a big coronation coming up Friday, so it would be sometime after that. During this conversation, Jafar seemed to notice that Gabby was merely standing there watching the conversation. He turned and waved her off frantically behind the others, probably wanting her to steal a few more things before the video chat ended.

Nodding in understanding, Gabby moved away, casting one last glance at the computer screen to engrave their faces in her memory. Part of her felt like Jay was watching her, but it was hard to tell on a computer screen and camera. She was probably just being stupid. There was something different about each of them, she just wasn't sure what it was.

While Gabby moved over to a blue-green wooden cabinet, she heard Cruella interrupt the important conversation.

"Carlos! Is that a _dog_?"

Gabby cringed as she placed a glass bottle in her bag. She couldn't help glancing over her shoulder at the computer. She saw Jay cringe much like she did.

"Oh, yes, yes, Baby, I _do_ understand. It _would_ make the perfect size for earmuffs!" Cruella spoke to her stuffed dog before giving off her infamous evil laugh.

"He's the perfect size for a _pet_!" Carlos snapped, pushing to the front of his friends. Gabby froze, her hand hovering over a mug she'd been about to grab. Her eyes fixed on Carlos's familiar, freckled face. She'd never seen him stand up to anyone, much less his mother.

Cruella seemed to think the same thing, if her surprised yelp was anything to go by.

"This dog loves me, and I love him. And FYI, you're dog is _stuffed_!" Carlos ranted. "So give it a rest!"

Gabby's mouth fell open, and she watched the screen as Jay pulled their youngest group member away from the screen. Jafar began laughing and poking fun at Cruella, which instantly started an argument between the two. But Gabby ignored them, still staring at the rest of her gang on the screen. They all looked uncomfortable with their parents arguing, even though they were all used to it. Jay seemed to look at the others' expressions before he leaned forward and suddenly, the screen was black again. He'd clearly ended the video call.

"Oh, great! Now look what you've done!" Maleficent complained, pushing buttons as if it would bring it back.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Gabby stuffed a couple more things into her bag before putting it back on her back and rejoining the adults. She waited silently in the background until Jafar announced he was leaving. He metaphorically pounced on Gabby the second they were outside, demanding to know what she managed to steal.

When they returned to the shop, Gingersnap returned to her favored perch on Gabby's shoulder while she emptied her bag for Jafar. She then cooked him a quick meal and decided she didn't want to hang around the shop that evening, sleeping alone under her shelf. So she grabbed a mushy apple and stale bread bun-which crunched with each bite-and snuck off to the hideout with the intention of spending the night there.

As soon as she pushed the door to the hideout open and entered the building, Gingersnap flew off and Gabby found her in their shared corner. Gabby crossed the room, passing Jay's couch until she reached her little corner by the window and heater. Gingersnap was perched on the tallest bar on her tall lamp with only one working light bulb. Gabby plopped her bag on her fuzzy, dark red beanbag before carrying her tiny dinner across the room to where most of the gang used to hang out all together.

This space hadn't been claimed by anyone individually. It had a ratty old red, leather couch. Behind the couch was a lamp and a bunch of old musical instruments Jay and Carlos collected like a couple guitars, a drum set, and even a tuba. There was a red desk next to the couch with pencils in a green cup; and in front of the couch was a small wooden coffee table, which held an old beige-colored TV set from the '90s, equipped with rabbit ear antennas.

Plopping down on the couch, Gabby kicked her boots off and curled her legs under her before leaning forward to turn the TV on. She changed the channel a couple times, which brought her right back to the channel she'd started on, before she leaned back into the couch and settled for watching whatever show was on the Auradon News Network.

It looked like they were just starting to show the Prince of the week segment that Evie was obsessed with. Gabby had caught glimpses of it on occasion, but she didn't watch it regularly like Evie did. And honestly, how many princes could Auradon possibly have? Surely they didn't really have enough to feature one every single week for who knows how many years.

This week they were doing a segment on Prince Ben, the soon-to-be-King of Auradon. They talked about common knowledge stuff, like how his parents were King Adam, formerly the Beast, and Queen Belle; his coronation to become King was coming up in a couple weeks, on Friday, which was also his sixteenth birthday; and he was Captain and number 7 on Auradon Prep's tourney team, whatever that was. They also mentioned a few personal details like how he loved reading and his secret wish was to live happily ever after. As if that was some big secret. Didn't most Auradon people want that?

Gabby sighed when the segment ended, tossing the apple core, which was all that was left of her dinner, into a nearby trash can. From the sound of it, she only had to suffer through this lonely existence until the coming coronation, from what Mal had said in the video chat. Then, whatever happens, Jay and the others would be back. And either things would go back to normal, or all the villains would be released to take their revenge on the good guys. Whatever happened, Gabby could only cling to the hope that there would still be a place for her among their little gang. It seemed to be the only place she might belong.

*~0~*

The next couple weeks for Gabby passed in the same dull yet dangerous routine. She cooked, cleaned, and stole for Jafar, and in order to make up for a lack of Jay being around to help it took her most of the day to do enough work to keep Jafar happy.

But then, she finally got a day off. Or at least part of a day off. Coronation day arrived and Jafar was as obsessed as Maleficent to see how things turned out. And it seemed the theory that something big was going down at the coronation had trickled down the hierarchy of the Isle. Gabby had heard whispers that many businesses were going to be open and having the coronation playing on the TV.

Thankfully, Gabby didn't have to go anywhere or be near anyone she didn't want to in order to watch the coronation on TV. She just curled up on the couch in their hideout and turned on their old TV with Gingersnap perched on her shoulder. After some commercials a program came onto the TV screen showing a crowd in front of an old Cathedral with a line of horse drawn carriages dropping off people in formalwear.

 _"At last, here we are, broadcasting live from the coronation where Prince Benjamin will soon be crowned King!"_ a cheerful woman's voice came onto the old, static TV screen before a beautiful woman with fair skin and black hair appeared holding a microphone. _"I'm Snow White, bringing you up-to-the-second coverage of who's the fairest of them all."_

"Evil Queen! Old hag!" Gingersnap squawked instinctively, flapping her wings for a moment. Gingersnap was used to hearing the phrase "fairest of them all" by the egotistical former Queen.

"It's okay. It's not the old hag." Gabby assured her parrot, reaching up to offer the parrot a piece of stale popcorn from a bag she'd snatched that morning.

The screen then changed to seemingly show the inside of the Cathedral, where many people in fancy gowns and suits were mingling and admiring each other's outfits. Gabby smothered the small, bitter thought that most of those people would wear those outfits once and then never again, while people on the Isle got by on scraps of cloth.

The screen then showed an older woman in an elegant blue dress stepping up to a raised dais, and Gabby recognized her as Fairy Godmother from the video chat. Snow White confirmed her thoughts a moment later.

 _"Oh, Fairy Godmother is looking radiant."_ she gushed. _"But_ what _is happening with Jane's hair?"_ The screen then showed a small portion of the crowd, which included a few teenagers. In the center was a young girl who closely resembled Fairy Godmother. She was dressed in a blue dress with a pink bow, but her hair was in a dull bob that looked limp. She looked very uncomfortable and Gabby felt a small pang of pity for her.

 _"And there is Fairy Godmother's wand!"_ Snow White continued as the screen showed Fairy Godmother whipping a blue sheet off a glass jar, revealing her magic wand. Gabby briefly wondered what was so great about the magic wand. Why did the villains have to be so obsessed with that? Weren't there plenty of other magical objects in Auradon that Maleficent could use to take over? Maybe a magic lamp, King Triton's Trident, or Jafar's Staff?

 _"Oh, and here comes Ben now."_

The screen changed again to show a young couple sitting in an elegantly-designed carriage approaching the front of the Cathedral. It took a few minutes for them to get close enough for the cameras to get a good look at the couple's faces.

When the carriage reached the front steps of the Cathedral, a young man who Gabby recognized to be Prince Ben stepped out of the carriage and helped a beautiful young girl in a purple dress out of the carriage.

And Gabby's jaw dropped.

Snow White called the girl a princess while Gabby got over her shock of seeing _Mal_ of all people dressed in an elegant, light purple dress with a ruffled skirt. She was used to Mal looking hard and tough, with dark clothes and a scary air about her. But this Mal looked beautiful and kind and radiant.

She looked like she belonged in Auradon.

 _"Now, let's see who this beauty is wearing."_ Snow White continued, lifting up a note card. _"Evie."_ she read, making Gabby's mouth fall open. _"Someone named Evie designed her gown."_ she added, somewhat awkwardly for not recognizing the name. But Gabby couldn't help a short laugh, clapping her hands a few times for Evie.

It was another few minutes of Mal and Prince Ben approaching the Cathedral, where they met the current King and Queen. The TV then showed a brief commercial before returning to the coronation. It showed the inside of the magnificent Cathedral. There were dozens and dozens of elegantly-dressed people lining the hall as the camera showed Prince Ben entering the Cathedral.

Gabby watched with curious interest as the prince approached the raised dais, where his parents and Fairy Godmother were waiting for him. They then got the wand out from under the glass jar it was being kept in. Gabby couldn't help leaning forward slightly as Fairy Godmother blessed the new King with her wand. After all, if Mal and the others were going to snatch the wand, now would be a good time, right? Or maybe they would wait until later?

Then, a small, pale hand appeared on screen and snatched the wand from Fairy Godmother's hand, causing many gasps. Gabby's own heart flew to her throat even though she'd been expecting it.

Then, there was a loud bang that seemed to shake the very core of the Isle. Gabby, who'd been sitting on the very edge of the red couch, almost fell to the floor and Gingersnap took flight with a screech, leaving the room.

The people in Auradon didn't notice what'd happened on the Isle, because they were watching their own problem unfold. Gabby's eyes returned to the TV screen and saw that it wasn't Mal who had stolen the wand, but Fairy Godmother's daughter. Gabby didn't catch what words were spoken, but Mal suddenly appeared and wrestled the wand out of the girl's hands. Then, the chaos fell to a tense silence as everyone stared at Mal, who was holding the wand aloft in both hands.

Prince-or was it King now?- Ben tried to talk Mal down while the camera, which was shaking a bit now, turned to show Jay, Carlos, and Evie running to reach Mal's side.

Gabby watched at the edge of her seat again as Ben tried to talk Mal down, while she did her best to make him back off. He wouldn't listen. Gabby expected Mal to just blast him away with the wand, and when she didn't Gabby knew things were more complicated than they were supposed to be. Mal had to feel at least _something_ to keep her from lashing out at Ben in that second.

 _"We have no choice, Ben!"_ Mal cried, sounding desperate. _"Our parents-"_

 _"Your parents made their choice."_ Ben cut her off. _"Now you make yours."_

Gabby held her breath as the camera zoomed in on Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos. Belle and Beast's son had just put words to what Gabby herself had been thinking for years. Now, she could only wait and hope that they would listen as Mal stared at the people around her with her mouth open wordlessly.

Finally, she spoke in a voice that Gabby almost couldn't hear. _"I think I want to be good."_

 _"You are good!"_ Ben insisted.

 _"How do you_ know that _?!"_ Mal exclaimed desperately. Gabby had never seen Mal lose her composure like that before.

 _"Because…because I'm listening to my heart."_

Mal stared in silence for a few moments before her eyes dropped in thought. _"I want to listen to my heart, too."_ she announced quietly. She looked up at Ben again before turning around to face Evie, Carlos, and Jay. _"And my heart is telling me that we are not our parents."_ she told them tearfully. They stared at her as she turned to look specifically at Jay. _"I mean, stealing things doesn't make you happy."_ Gabby's eyes moved to Jay's face on the screen, watching his expression closely. _"Tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy."_ Mal told him, and Gabby couldn't help smiling when Jay did the same. It was more than a smirk or a grin. He was genuinely happy, and Gabby had never seen that expression on his face. He and Carlos exchanged an equally happy grin, and Gabby noted Carlos didn't look scared or nervous or shaky for once. He was holding himself with his head high and looked like a different person.

Mal went on to say that scratching Dude's belly makes Carlos happy, which Gabby didn't completely understand, but it made the others laugh a bit. She guessed it had something to do with the little dog Carlos had been holding a couple weeks ago. Then Mal told Evie that she doesn't have to play dumb to get a guy. Finally she said that being with Ben and being friends with the others makes her happy.

Mal's use of the word "friends" hit Gabby right in the chest. She had always had to consciously remind herself that no one had friends on the Isle of the Lost. That Mal, Carlos, and Evie were not her friends. That Jay was _not_ her friend. They were in the same gang. She was Jay's property. They might have her back. But she had no friends. No one on the Isle did.

And now, their short time in Auradon seemed to have changed that. Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie were no longer a gang. They were friends.

And Gabby had to try to not let that get to her.

Then, Mal put her fist out, saying, _"I choose good, you guys."_

There was a long silence as Evie, Carlos, and Jay looked down at Mal's fist. The five seconds of silence seemed to stretch out, and Mal appeared to slowly be losing her confidence the longer the stillness remained. Then, finally, a familiar, tan-skinned fist reached out and met Mal's.

 _"I choose good, too."_ Jay announced with a smile.

 _"I choose good."_ Evie decided, also stepping forward and touching her fist to theirs. They all then turned to look at Carlos, who stood between Evie and Jay.

 _"So, just to be clear,"_ Carlos started, _"we don't have to be worried about how_ really mad _our parents will be?"_ he asked, causing the others to laugh. Even Gabby smiled sadly at the reminder of how cruel Cruella was to her son. _"Because they're gonna be really,_ really _mad."_

 _"Your parents can't reach you here."_ Ben assured him, causing Carlos, Jay, and Evie to look at him with serious expressions.

Finally, Carlos smiled again and stepped forward. _"Okay, then. Good."_ he decided, putting his fist to the others'.

It was what Gabby always pictured a modern day fairytale ending would look like. Ben joined them in touching his fist to theirs, and everyone looked happy. It was perfect.

And then it ended in a literal shattering of glass.

Everyone on screen gasped and cowered, and the camera shook for a moment before turning upward to show a poison-green cloud of smoke entering through a broken stained glass window. It swirled and spun before coming to a stop on the ground in front of the dais between Mal and Fairy Godmother.

Gabby held her breath, leaning forward with eyes wide in horror as she stared at the TV screen. The smoke touched down and spun as it dissipated, finally evaporating to reveal Maleficent.

 _"I'm_ BAAACK _!"_ she exclaimed, holding her scepter aloft.

The camera person backed up a few feet, keeping the main crowd of people in the screen with Maleficent at the center.

 _"Go away, Mother."_ Mal said, sounding almost bored.

And of course Maleficent cackled like a deranged maniac. _"She's funny. Oh! I'm so…You're very funny."_ And then she was serious again. _"Here. Wand me. Chop chop."_

 _"No!"_ Ben yelled.

Mal looked like she was about to hand the wand over, then she faked her mom out and threw the wand to Fairy Godmother on the dais, who caught it.

She gave it a wave, chanting, _"Bibbidi-bobbedi-"_

 _"Boo!"_ Maleficent mocked. Then, there was a loud boom, and suddenly the TV screen went blank. It was black for a second before a new screen showed up, showing several colorful rectangles. In the middle were the words:

'Technical Difficulties

Please Stand By'

Gabby stared, gaping at the screen for several moments before she shot to her feet, standing over the TV with her eyes glued to it.

"No!" she screamed. "No, you have to be kidding me! What's happening? Why would you-Why-" Gabby stopped, forcing herself to take deep breaths. "Okay, calm down. It's not the TV's fault." Then she groaned and began pacing. "But that just means something is happening in Auradon, with Maleficent, and Jay, and Mal, and everyone. And I have no idea what that is. But maybe it's something good." she told herself, still pacing between the couch and TV. "The last thing we saw was Fairy Godmother waving the wand. Maybe she handled everything. Maybe she's captured Maleficent and is sending her back to the Isle this second. Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. The TV will work again soon and tell me what's happening."

So, Gabby waited. And waited. _And waited_.

It felt like it took hours, but repeatedly checking the clock across the room, which seemed to be moving slowly, told her it was only about four minutes before the TV screen suddenly burst to life again.

The screen shook a bit, as if the cameraman was adjusting it, as Snow White appeared on the screen with her microphone again.

 _"Sorry about that, everyone. We now have Breaking News from right here in The Auradon Cathedral. As you all saw just before we went off the air, the evil Mistress_ Maleficent _had managed to escape the_ Isle of the Lost _and appeared_ here _in this very hall."_ Snow White told the camera dramatically. _"Not to worry, though, because Maleficent has been defeated… by her very own_ daughter _."_

Gabby's mouth fell open as she stared at the TV screen.

 _"To put it simply, Maleficent used the magic of her scepter to freeze everyone in the hall apart from a handful of people, which is why our cameras stopped working. The few people she left unfrozen aside from herself were the four kids King Ben brought over from the Isle of the Lost: Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay. The four kids managed to work together to defeat Maleficent, turning her into a tiny, purple lizard. No details have been given, but Fairy Godmother has assured us that Maleficent is no longer a threat at this time and will be placed under high security. And now that all the drama has passed, a new dawn is on the horizon for Auradon. We have a new King and a bright future filled with plenty of Happily Ever Afters. And with that, have a wonderful day, Auradon."_

The program ended and went to some random commercial while Gabby stared down at the TV from where she stood in front of it. Then, she slowly sank down onto the couch behind her, letting her mind process all this new information.

Mal, then Jay, Evie, and Carlos all chose to be _good_ instead of following in their parents' evil footsteps. And then they all faced the ultimate test just seconds after making that choice; Mal especially. They had to stand up to Maleficent, and they even fought her and won.

It was the best situation imaginable, in Gabby's mind. But then something else occurred to her.

 _'What now?'_

Surely, Jay and the others would come get her, right? Or they would at least send someone for her. Jay knew how much she wanted to come to Auradon, and surely they wouldn't leave her on the Isle all alone.

Right?


	11. Chapter 11

**There are about six months between Descendants 1 and 2(which Mal states in Descendants 2) so the next several chapters are going to say how much time until Descendants 2. I'm not saying anything more than that to avoid spoilers.**

 **Ch 11 (Still 2015; 6 months to D2)**

Gabby peaked in through the door before fully stepping into the empty, paint-splattered room. "Hello? Dizzy?"

There was a moment of silence before the rapid clicking of little heels filled the air. Gabby started smiling before Dizzy even appeared around the corner. The young girl raced across the room and threw her arms around Gabby's middle, making Gabby wince as she lightly hugged her back.

"Hey, Dizzy, can you let up a bit?" she asked in a strained voice.

Dizzy instantly jerked back, looking worriedly up at her through her purple cat-eye glasses. "I'm sorry! What's wrong?"

Gabby forced a smile as the pain ebbed. "Nothing much. Just a…work-related injury." she answered vaguely. In reality, the night of the coronation Gabby had returned to the shop to find Jafar in another drunken rage, ranting about his ungrateful son abandoning him. Jafar had then managed to get hold of a knife. Gabby was able to defend herself fairly well until he managed to slash her back. She healed it as best she could, considering how difficult it was to reach that far back.

"Oh. Will you be okay?" Dizzy asked worriedly.

Gabby smiled more easily. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I've had worse, I'm sure. But that's not why I'm here. I thought I'd visit you and I brought you something." she told the younger girl.

In the year or so since Gabby had met Dizzy, she'd stopped by several times, both with Evie or on her own. Dizzy had trimmed Gabby's hair once more since the first time she'd cut it and it was much healthier and glossier now that it was being taken care of. Evie had also pointed out to Gabby that washing hair in cold water was healthier for your hair, which was good since the Isle didn't have water heaters.

Gabby set her bag on the nearest table and opened it, shifting through the things she'd been stealing throughout the day until she found the little paper bag at the bottom. Pulling it out, she held it out toward Dizzy with a small smile.

Dizzy took it slowly, her brown eyes big and curious. She slowly uncurled the top of the bag so she could open it and look inside. Her eyes and mouth popped open in shock before her head snapped up to stare at Gabby in surprise.

"Are these…?"

"Applesauce cookies." Gabby answered, smiling at the eagerness in Dizzy's expression. "It was difficult, trying to figure out how to make anything sweet, especially without most of the ingredients, but I think they turned out alright." Gabby told her. "I figured you'd like some."

Dizzy plunged a hand into the bag, pulling out one of the cookies and shoving it into her mouth, eating almost half of it in one bite. She moaned with her mouth full. "It's so good!" she mumbled around the food before swallowing. "You know, you're really good at cooking and stuff."

Gabby laughed. "High praise. Thank you."

"Have you considered selling your stuff?" Dizzy asked curiously, tilting her head.

The question threw Gabby for a loop. "Um, well, no." she answered honestly. "You can't really…I mean, this is the Isle. Most people don't pay for anything. They just steal it. Heck, I steal most of the ingredients for the food I make, or the money I use to buy it."

Dizzy nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose so. But maybe you could sell them to the Goblins at the Slop Shop. They'd have a bigger variety of food, then. Or you could offer to trade some of your food for other things. You could start a business!" she ended eagerly.

Gabby chuckled, shaking her head. "Maybe in a perfect world; maybe in Auradon I could do it. I think I would love doing something like that. I really would. But this isn't Auradon." she ended sadly. "But we can have…a miniature version. Just the two of us." Gabby suggested when she saw Dizzy's face fall. "I mean, you sometimes cut my hair, and we both sometimes design or make new outfits and stuff. I could pay you in more food and stuff. Just keep it hidden from your family." she added as Dizzy started smiling again. Dizzy's family, especially her older cousins and sisters, were particularly mean to the youngest of the Tremaine clan. She was basically this generation's Cinderella. But nothing kept Dizzy down.

"Sure thing!" Dizzy beamed.

For the next hour, Gabby and Dizzy sat in the hair salon, snacking on the cookies while they discussed the coronation, which Dizzy had also watched on TV. Dizzy gushed over the amazing dresses Evie had designed and made for herself and Mal, and they both talked about what life must be like in Auradon.

"Do you think you could make ice cream?" Dizzy asked curiously. "I've always wanted to know what ice cream tasted like." she gushed.

Gabby pondered that. "Um, I'm not sure. I think that requires cream, and cream doesn't normally make it onto the Isle, and if it does, it's usually curdled and spoiled. I don't think that would make good ice cream."

Gabby left not long after that, managing to snatch a couple things on the way to the hideout. When she entered the building, Gingersnap squawked a greeting. Gabby pulled out some crackers for her before approaching her corner. She sat on her beanbag and grabbed a cloth sack off the floor. She pulled a pearl bracelet from her purse and dropped it in the sack where a few gold coins and a gold pocket watch already sat before pulling a piece of paper and a pen out of the same sack. On the paper was the list of all the things Jay had used to buy her with. Using the pen, she crossed off the words 'pearl bracelet' on the list. She'd decided she would start collecting all the correct items so she could, hopefully, buy her freedom whenever Jay hopefully came back for her.

Stuffing the paper and old pen back into the cloth sack with the bracelet, Gabby set the sack on the floor before moving to sit on Jay's lumpy, tattered couch a couple feet away, wrapping one of the sleeping bags around herself as she curled up. She sat there silently for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Then, she leaned forward and grabbed one of many crumpled pieces of paper sitting on Jay's table-like chest. She then grabbed a broken pencil and a tattered book for a flat surface. Setting the paper on the book, she leaned back and stared at the paper for a long moment before her pencil touched it.

' _Dear Jay,_

 _It's been a few days since you and the others chose good and defeated Maleficent. What's it like, living in Auradon? I thought you said it would be boring. You seem to be doing just fine, though, from the look of things. I've been meaning to look into this_ tourney _sport you seem to like so much. When's your next game? Maybe I can catch it on TV. Or maybe you'll come get me by then and I can see it in person?_

 _It's pretty much the same around here, though without Maleficent around everyone's sort of fallen into chaos. I heard some people raided Bargain Castle. And some of the gangs have started butting heads over who gets our turf now that you guys are gone. Oh, and your dad's not happy. He managed to get me in the back with an old knife the night of the coronation. But I'm fine. I patched myself up._

 _Anyway, I hope you're happy in Auradon. Say hi to the others. You all deserve to be over there._

 _Gabby'_

Gabby sighed, setting her pencil down on the paper and staring at the words in her small, rounded handwriting. She knew writing any letters to Jay or the others was pointless from a rational standpoint. They would never see the letter. She would never be able to actually mail anything to Auradon. But she still felt a need to do it. It felt less lonely, pretending she was actually telling Jay these things. Pretending he would get to read it. And maybe she would give the letter to Jay when he came to get her.

However long that might take.

*~0~*

Gabby crouched behind a crate in a dark alley, peaking around the corner of the crate at the scene just outside of the alley. Gingersnap was perched on her shoulder, her claws shifting against the fabric of Gabby's jacket as she also tried to watch the scene.

Two different gangs-it looked like Harriet Hook's and Mad Maddy's-were in a huge tussle in the open space between a few buildings. Gabby knew they were probably fighting over Mal's turf; all the gangs seemed to think that the territory was open for the taking now that Mal and the others were gone. And everyone knew there was realistically no way Gabby could stop them.

But that wasn't the main reason she was watching this particular scuffle. She was watching for…research purposes.

Both gangs had a variety of members, especially in size, age, and gender. Harriet's crew especially, as some of the kids were as young as eleven years old and about the same size as Dizzy. And then there was Mad Maddy's gang, which included Gabby's own enormous 17 year old twin brothers; Gaston Jr. and Gaston the Third. But she was mostly ignoring those two. She was focusing more on the younger members of Harriet's crew to see how they fought people bigger and stronger then them. She was hoping she could learn a few things from them.

The first thing she noticed in how the smaller kids fought was that they used their smaller size and speed to their advantage. They were very elusive, ducking and dodging whenever their opponent threw punches. They would also take advantage of their opponents' weaknesses. When one of the bigger teens threw a heavy punch at a younger boy, said boy ducked the punch, which caused the teen to overbalance slightly. The boy then ducked behind the teen and shoved him forward and to the ground.

Another kid, a girl that looked about twelve or thirteen, kept Gaston the Third at a distance by wielding a sword, swinging it in a way that kept Gaston from getting too close. Gabby watched all this and committed a few of these ideas to memory for later use. She only watched for another few minutes before deciding to head to the docks, where the Auradon barges were scheduled to come in any time now.

By the time she reached the docks, the barges had arrived and goblins were ambling about. Sneaking expertly onto the barges, Gabby rapidly searched the nearest barge, grabbing whatever she could find that seemed useful or valuable. Gingersnap was fluttering around, occasionally dropping things near Gabby to collect, but mostly keeping lookout for goblins.

When Gabby crawled farther onto the barge, she put her knee down on something that was slightly squishy. Brows furrowed curiously, she moved back and shoved a couple things aside. Pulling the squishy item out of a pile, she finally got a good look at it. It was a male mannequin, similar to the one Evie had in the hideout, but different at the same time. It was dark gray and it was made of a type of foam instead of hard plastic like Evie's. Gabby lightly punched the stomach area of the mannequin. It didn't hurt, and it gave her an idea. It wasn't a full body mannequin; it only had the head down to the upper thighs. She could put it on a stand of some sort, and maybe she could use it to practice the defensive moves she'd seen earlier.

Hearing a grunt nearby, Gabby glanced around before tucking the mannequin under her arm. She hurried off the barge and raced up the docks, Gingersnap flying in her wake.

*~0~*

Gabby set the dishes in the sink of the junk shop's kitchen, glancing over her shoulder at Jafar, who was counting his gold at the kitchen table, some crumbs from his lunch still on his face. Turning back around, Gabby stared down into the sink for several moments, taking deep breaths to work up the courage to say what she needed to. Gingersnap, perched on Gabby's shoulder, gently nibbled her ear before rubbing her head against Gabby's cheek. Gabby leaned her cheek into her parrot's head before finally turning around to face Jafar.

"I have something I need to say." Gabby announced, trying to sound strong and firm.

Jafar glanced up at her, but remained mostly focused on his task. "It can wait. I'm busy."

"You can count your gold anytime." Gabby told him, refusing to be ignored for once. "I just thought you might like to know that I'm leaving."

That stopped Jafar and he looked up at her blankly. "That's funny." Jafar told her after a few moments. "You make it sound like you have a choice. But you're my property. You _can't_ leave. Remember that part?" he reminded her condescendingly.

"I think you forgot a few things." Gabby reminded him in return, reaching over and grabbing her bag off the kitchen counter. "You are _not_ the one who bought me off Gaston. Jay is. Technically, I'm Jay's property, not yours."

"That fact is null and void, given my son left you here with me while he ran off to Auradon."

Gabby forced herself not to flinch, simply staring at him with cold, blue eyes. "I'm Jay's property, not yours." she repeated. "However, as Jay is not here, I'm offering up my payment to you." she continued, reaching into her bag to pull out a cloth sack, which she tossed onto the kitchen table in front of Jafar. "That bag contains a list of all the things Jay bought me with, as well as every item on that list. This is me…paying off my debt, I suppose. Buying my freedom. I am no longer under your control, and I am leaving tonight." It'd taken nearly two weeks, but Gabby had managed to collect every item alongside all the things she'd had to steal simply for Jafar to sell.

Jafar stared at the cloth sack, looking completely dumbfounded. "You can't-that's-you-you will not leave! I will not allow it!" he roared, standing upright.

Gabby stood her ground, her muscles tense and rigid as she eyed him warily. Gingersnap, perched on her shoulder still, shifted and growled quietly. Gabby sincerely hoped Jafar wasn't aware of the dagger with the ruby handle in the bag, part of her payment.

"It's not about what you will or will not allow." Gabby told him, surprised by how steady her voice was. "I am no longer your servant, and I will not stay here."

Jafar moved to the side, blocking the doorway of the kitchen. "Try and leave." he dared her.

Gabby eyed him for a moment, trying to decide the best way to escape. Despite how fat he was, he was still stronger than her. Her blue eyes flicked briefly to the piles of gold coins on the table.

"Coins." she whispered quietly to her faithful companion. "Gold coins."

Gingersnap flew off Gabby's shoulder almost instantly, aimed right for the table. As predicted, Jafar screamed, "No!" and lurched toward the table to defend his precious money, leaving the kitchen door wide open. Gabby bolted through the doorway, giving a sharp whistle as she raced across the store toward the front door. Luckily, she'd planned ahead enough to leave the door unlocked when Jafar wasn't looking. Gingersnap returned to Gabby's shoulder right as Gabby yanked the door open and ran off into the night.

Only when she was safe inside the hideout and plopped down on Jay's sofa did she feel a true sense of relief. She may not be free in the true sense of the word, considering the Isle of the Lost was a real prison, but she was finally her own person. She could permanently live up in the hideout without having to worry about stealing, cleaning, and cooking for Jafar. She would still need to take care of herself and Gingersnap, and she wasn't completely safe since she would need to travel out into the Isle for food and things, but it was a start.

*~0~*

Gabby released a long breath, staring calculatingly at the figure several feet in front of her. Her eyes assessed it from top to bottom as she tried to decide what to do to it first.

The figure in front of her? It was the foam mannequin she'd found, which she'd stuck on a stand so it would stand upright at about the average height of a guy. After debating what move to practice first, Gabby decided to try different kinds of kicking.

She brought her leg up and turned a bit so that her foot slammed into the ribs of the mannequin. It easily toppled to the ground. Gabby released a breath, nodding once. She picked it back up and did that a few more times, trying out different kinds of kicks. She figured, since her legs were longer and stronger than her arms, she could keep her opponent at a safer distance while possibly doing damage to them. She would just have to be careful about them possibly grabbing her leg.

After practicing that for a few minutes, Gabby decided to try working on some evasive moves. She ducked imaginary punches, bobbing and weaving around the mannequin. She stopped, her face turning red, when she heard hysterical laughter.

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, still blushing as she turned to glare at Gingersnap perched on her lamp.

"Shut up!" Gingersnap parroted before continuing to laugh.

Gabby rolled her eyes before wincing and grabbing her left ribs with her right hand. Deciding that she'd had enough practicing for the evening, she picked up some paper and a pencil before going outside to her metal fold up chair on the highest landing of the hideout. She'd recently put a thick blanket on the metal chair to make it softer and more comfortable, and her achy body sank into it with relief. Curling her legs up, she gazed out across the ocean at Auradon for a few moments before putting her pencil to the paper.

' _Dear Jay,_

 _Looks like you're having fun over in Auradon. I saw you on TV the other day. I'm still trying to figure out how this so-called 'tourney' game works, but you seem to be the star of the show. And the announcer guy seemed to think Carlos is improving a lot. I think he actually managed to score a goal.'_

Gabby paused, chewing on her lip as she decided how to continue. After a few moments, she hesitantly put the pencil back to the paper.

' _The Isle still sucks. Especially being completely on my own. But at least I don't have to take care of your fat, lazy father anymore. All the gangs are fighting over our turf. It seems Uma's gang has taken over most of it, but you never know. Things can change by the day around here. Speaking of Harry and Uma, I got an interesting proposition from Harry Hook and his band of pirate wannabes today._

 _It's pretty common knowledge around here that I'm on my own now that you guys are gone. I don't know what I could possibly offer to any other gangs, but Harry must see something. Maybe he's just being a pervert. He offered I join his gang again. Even warned me I wouldn't get any other offers, and if I refused it would paint a target on my back. Well, a bigger target than I originally had. I refused out of loyalty to you, Mal, Carlos, and Evie. I'm starting to wonder if that loyalty is misguided, though. It's been about three weeks since the new King's coronation and I haven't heard from any of you._

 _Long story short, Harry made good on his threat. Almost as soon as I made it clear I wasn't interested in joining him and Uma, he sicked his pirates on me. Nothing too terrible; just pushed me around, kicked me a bit. I tried fighting back, but there were four of them. But don't worry; I've been teaching myself self-defense stuff. I should be fine._

 _I think that's everything. I wish you could actually read these letters, but at least they keep me from going crazy. Say hi to the others, and tell Mal to send me some fresh strawberries. Her obsession of them seems to be the one thing all these TV paparazzi have focused on. They certainly look good, though that 'chocolate' stuff kinda looks like poop or mud. Good luck on your next tourney game; I'll try to catch it on TV._

 _Gabby'_

Gabby sighed heavily, letting her head drop back on the blanket-covered chair. She'd downplayed the altercation with Harry Hook, even though she figured Jay would probably never see this letter, just like he would probably never see the last three she'd written. The beating Harry's goons gave her had left several bruises on her ribs, stomach, legs, and arms. She'd have more on her face if she hadn't used her arms to protect her head.

After more than three weeks without the others, she was losing more and more hope by the day. She'd believed, maybe misguidedly, that the others would send for her after choosing to stay in Auradon, or in the very least contact her. But now she was beginning to feel a slight sense of déjà vu. She was once again waiting, watching life on the Isle go by as if everything was fine, while she was unable to contact the people she needed to. It was like her mother's death all over again.

She'd always known she was the outsider in their gang, but the fact that no one had at least contacted her in three weeks was like salt in the wound. She'd come up with all kinds of excuses in the beginning. They were enjoying the first few days after the coronation. They were busy with school. Maybe there was a long process to bring someone over from the Isle. Maybe the King didn't want to bring Gaston's daughter to Auradon. But after awhile those excuses became weaker and weaker.

She had hoped so desperately that they would convince the King to bring her to Auradon, but there was still no word, and she was starting to think there never would be.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ch 12 (Still 2015; 5 months to D2)**

Gabby glanced up almost frantically when she heard a loud thump. Seeing that it was only a couple goblins down the dock, she quickly grabbed a couple more things she thought might be useful, stuffed them into her bag, and hurriedly snuck back off the barge and slunk back up the docks to safety.

Since leaving Jafar's, Gabby left the hideout as rarely as she could possibly get away with. When she did, she made sure to make the best of it, collecting as much food and materials as she could to last her a while. She made it a point to do so on the days the Auradon barges came in for fresher and more abundant pickings.

After the docks were behind her, Gabby ducked through alleys to avoid bumping into anyone she didn't want to. It wasn't long before the familiar hair salon came into view, the scissor-shaped sign above the set of beaten up double doors with a crooked CLOSED sign.

Gabby pushed the heavy double doors open just enough to slip inside. She was about to then push through the clear, plastic flaps that were stained with paint splatters when she paused. She could hear loud laughs and crashes coming from the other side of the clear flaps. She hesitated for a moment before moving just to the side of the doorway and peaking between the flaps into the room.

The room on the other side was the main room of Curl Up & Dye. Dizzy was standing behind the till on the front counter, which was the reused front of an old car, with a forlorn expression as she watched Harry Hook and a couple of his pirates practically trash the place.

After knocking over one of the chairs, Harry approached where Dizzy stood at the till. He stopped on the other side of the counter and looked down at her, almost looking like a normal, respectful, paying customer. Gabby tensed, wondering if he was going to hurt the little girl. She was so used to connecting Harry Hook with violence and pain that she was surprised when he simply tapped the tip of his hook to the metal surface of the car-turned-counter.

"Cough it up, twerp." he ordered lightly.

Dizzy hurriedly opened the till and pulled out a handful of items, probably the whole day's earnings, and dropped them into Harry's empty hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Harry mocked with a bow before turning toward the entrance.

Where Gabby was still hiding.

Gabby's breath caught in her throat as she frantically backed away from the plastic flaps. She whipped around in a frantic search of cover and luckily found an old, off-white refrigerator several feet down the short hall next to the door. She leapt toward it and slammed into the wall on it's other side just as the flaps swished open. She held her breath as multiple sets of footsteps exited the building, the double doors slamming shut after them.

Silence fell, but Gabby didn't move for at least five seconds before she felt safe releasing her breath. She hesitantly stepped away from the fridge, keeping her eye on the front door as she slowly approached the flaps. Not hearing anyone, she peaked through the flaps before finally slipping through them into the main room of the salon.

Dizzy was pulling a heavy glass container upright from where it'd been knocked over, blue hair dye pooled on the ground around it. Dizzy heaved a sigh that made her shoulders lift. As she approached the front desk, she finally looked up and saw Gabby standing in the doorway. She instantly smiled, but not quite as big as usual.

"Hi, Gabby. You just missed Harry Hook and his crew." Dizzy told her, ducking down behind the counter for a moment before straightening up with a bucket. "They…picked up their payment." she explained quietly as she walked back to the puddle on the floor.

Mal's gang had also collected from the salon, but they never roughed Dizzy or the others up or trashed the place. If anything, Dizzy was usually pleased to hand money over to them just so they could come around and hang out with her, as it was usually Evie and Gabby, sometimes Mal.

Gabby sighed. "Yeah. I saw." she admitted quietly, moving toward the front counter. She dropped her bag behind it and grabbed a broom to start sweeping up the shattered glass and debris on the floor. Dizzy knelt on the ground by the puddle of hair dye that was already drying. She pulled a brush from the bucket and began scrubbing at the mess.

They cleaned in silence for a few minutes before Gabby spoke. "So, aside from that _lovely_ visit," she started sarcastically, "how has your day been?"

Dizzy hummed with a small shrug. "It's been okay. I gave a witch a haircut and touched up her roots."

"That's good. So, your grandma's starting to give you real customers?" Gabby asked with a small smile.

"Not really, just that one. Granny didn't consider her a _'real customer'_. I actually think she was hoping I'd screw it up. She doesn't like that particular customer." Dizzy admitted, not sounding the least bit disappointed.

"You must have done a great job." Gabby guessed. "You always do." she added playfully, tossing a smile over her shoulder. Dizzy beamed at her.

"She didn't say it out loud, but I could tell she was pleased. Granny not so much, though, because it means the witch will probably be a return customer." Dizzy admitted.

Gabby snorted, going back to sweeping glass into a pile.

"Oh!" Dizzy suddenly popped up and scurried across the room. Gabby paused, her eyes wide with surprise as she watched the young girl. Dizzy snatched her sketchbook off a back table and hurried back to Gabby, flipping through the pages rapidly.

"Look what I finished last night! Evie designed something similar, but I designed this for you!" Dizzy explained excitedly, holding the sketchbook out for Gabby to hold. She almost dropped the broom in taking the book from the excited girl. She looked down at the outfit sketched out in colored pencil on the off-white paper.

"It looks like a dress, but it's not." Dizzy explained, stepping forward and pointing at the picture. "It's a matching leather skirt and jacket that are connected. Probably with a zipper or something. And if you only want to wear the skirt or jacket separately, you can take them apart."

Gabby smiled as she looked over the multiple detailed sketches on the page. It was clear Dizzy had been taking pointers from Evie, even without the blue-haired teen being around.

"Dizzy, these are amazing! As soon as I get enough material, I'll definitely get started making this. If you want, I can make one each for both of us." she offered, looking down at the young girl.

Dizzy shrugged. "Sure, if you have time and the materials."

They spent the next couple hours cleaning and talking, and when Gabby eventually left Dizzy insisted she take the design with her so she could start it as soon as she could. Gabby vowed she would use the design to make _something_ special for the young girl.

And when, the next morning, Dizzy found a small bag of money on the front counter, Gabby pretended to know nothing about it.

*~0~*

About a week later, Gabby ducked into an alley with a slight skip in her step. She'd gotten pretty lucky at the barges. She not only found some halfway decent food that was now in the bottom of her bag, she also found some fabric that would be perfect for Dizzy's leather jacket. She'd already started on her own with some red leather she had leftover, but she hadn't known how to make one for Dizzy that was both similar and unique. Now her brain was full of ideas.

Her happy mood, however, deflated when she turned into yet another back alley and she saw Harry Hook messing with a younger boy. She froze just around the corner, her eyes fixed on him. She slowly took a step back when another pirate, one of Harry and Uma's crew, saw her and pointed her out. As soon as Harry's ice blue eyes landed on her, Gabby saw the young boy take off.

Gabby swallowed and spun around, bolting back up the alley. She heard them shout, but she just picked up her pace. Unfortunately, another pirate appeared at the entrance to the alley. Gabby skidded to a stop on the wet blacktop, looking anxiously over her shoulder. Harry and who Gabby now recognized as Jonas were slowly approaching her from one direction while a girl pirate blocked the other end of the alley. Gabby slowly backed toward one wall of the alley. She knew she shouldn't back herself into a corner, but she also needed to protect her back with these people.

"Well, well, look who we have here." Harry sneered at her. "Leaving so soon, Gabrielle? You know, you're a slippery little thing. My crew's been trying to get their hands on you the past couple weeks, but you're hard to find."

Gabby lifted her chin, trying to stifle her fear. " _Your_ crew? I thought you were Uma's little sidekick."

Harry's smirk fell as he glared at her. Meanwhile, his two companions snickered behind their hands.

"We're going to make you regret being on our bad side." Harry threatened lowly, pulling his sword out of his belt. The other two quickly did the same.

Gingersnap, perched on Gabby's shoulder, fluffed up her feathers and growled. Gabby noticed Jonas flinch, and she couldn't help the satisfaction when she noticed the scar on his left cheek, a mark from his last encounter with Gabby's loyal bird.

Harry twirled his sword and Gabby quickly stepped back, only to bump into the wall. Her boot bumped something and she quickly looked down, instantly snatching up the old wooden broom leaning against the wall. She held it up defensively, the end pointed at Harry. Him and his companions laughed at her, which made her already frayed nerves snap and she swung the broom at Harry's sword. It almost knocked Harry's sword from his hand and he had to fumble to keep hold of it. The other two instantly hurried forward in his defense.

Gingersnap flew at Jonas's face, which made him scream. Gabby swung her broom at the girl, managing to hit her in the face with the brush end. She backed off and Harry came at Gabby with his own sword swinging. She jabbed the other end of her broom into his stomach, knocking some air from his lungs.

Hearing a scream, Gabby glanced past Harry to see Jonas running out of the alley, Gingersnap flying at the end of his cornrow hair in pursuit. Gabby only watched for a second before needing to defend herself again as both Harry and the girl pirate swung their swords at her.

Gabby swung the handle end of the broom at Harry, managing to catch his cheekbone. Her focus on Harry cost her as the other pirate slashed her sword out and caught Gabby in the arm. Gabby instinctively swung the broom at her sword, managing to knock the wood of the brush end into the girl's hand. She yelped and dropped her sword, backing away from Gabby.

Harry lifted his sword and swung it down toward Gabby's head. She lifted her broom up, parallel from the ground, and felt it shake on impact. She peaked open her eyes, which she'd closed instinctively, and saw that Harry's blade was caught in the wood of the broom. He yanked at it, but Gabby pulled and twisted the broom, yanking the sword from Harry's hand while smacking him in the face with the brush of the broom.

She stepped forward so that she stood over both swords, continuing to swing the broom at both Harry and his female companion to keep them a safe distance from her.

A familiar screech caught Gabby's attention as Gingersnap flew back into the alley. Knowing that was her way of warning Gabby that more people were coming, Gabby gave one more powerful swing with her broom, knocking Harry in the head and making him stumble into the girl. Gabby then took off down the alley with a sharp whistle to tell Gingersnap to follow her. She could barely hear the flap of wings over the wind blowing in her ears.

She turned a corner and ditched her broom, running down another back alley. Her eyes frantically searched for a place to hide as she ran, but the only one she could see that would completely hide her from view was a beat-up, green dumpster. She ran to the open dumpster and clambered inside, climbing over piles of garbage to huddle in the dark corner. Gingersnap dove in after her, nestling into Gabby's chest. Gabby held her breath and put her hand over Gingersnap's beak in a sign to be quiet.

Several seconds later, multiple sets of rushed footsteps passed the dumpster. The sound faded in the distance, but Gabby waited until it was absolutely silent before she released her breath and looked down at Gingersnap.

"Well, I think that went well." she whispered. "But I should probably work on my getaways." she added, looking around even though she couldn't see much in the dark dumpster. Then, she wrinkled her nose both at the smell and the fact that she was sitting on something squishy. Shifting to one side, she reached under her to pull the mystery item up into the minimal light. It fit in her palm and was squishy and smelled a bit like-

It's a dirty diaper.

 _"Ugh!"_

*~0~*

Gabby sighed, sitting back and stretching her arms over her head until her back cracked. She'd been working on her and Dizzy's jackets for the past few days off and on and she was making good progress. All the parts for her outfit had been cut and she was starting to attach them so they resembled clothes.

Standing up, Gabby left the fabric in a pile on the desk to cross the hideout and stretch out on Jay's couch. After being hunched over the desk for most of the day, her back desperately needed to be straightened out. After stretching out, she reached over and grabbed a big, worn book off the chest-made-coffee table. It was a book she'd found and "borrowed" from The Facilier's Shop. It wasn't opened as often as it used to be since Freddie, Dr. Facilier's daughter, had recently vanished and hadn't been seen in a few weeks.

Gabby had frequently been considering getting some kind of weapon to use to protect herself from anyone who might attack her. The only problem was she wasn't sure what kind of weapon would be best for her. She thought she did pretty good using that broom, probably because it kept her attackers at a distance. So, she'd searched for something that could give her more information about kinds of weapons. That's where this book came in. She'd been searching through Facilier's Shop and found a book full of all kinds of weapons from all over the world and different time periods.

Flipping through the book, Grabby grabbed a piece of paper and pencil to write down any possible ideas, as well as the page number they were on so she could look back at any details.

"Ooh." Gabby whispered nearly an hour into her search. She'd written down almost a dozen weapons she'd found, putting a star next to a couple that held the most promise, like a longbow, sword, or sling. Her current interest was on a weapon she'd found on page 91. The Naginata originated from Japan, and was basically a long pole or staff with a blade on the end. Reading about it, Gabby figured she could use it similarly to how she fought with the broom a few days before.

There were a couple problems Gabby could see in using this weapon, though. For one, they were an average of about eight or nine feet. Carrying that around would make Gabby stick out more than she normally does and would make fleeing and hiding difficult. The broom had worked as a weapon, but she'd been able to ditch it when she ran away.

Gabby sighed, putting her pencil down and rubbing her tired eyes. Gingersnap landed on her shoulder and nibbled at her wavy, black hair.

"Well, I think that was a fairly productive day. Wouldn't you?" Gabby asked quietly, scratching at Gingersnap's head.

"Apple. Apple." Gingersnap squawked.

"Oh, alright. Bossy featherbrain." Gabby sighed, pulling herself off the couch and setting the book and paper on the coffee table. She entered the room where she kept any food she brought in and approached the small pile of fruit she had. She grabbed the apple that was the least bruised and rotten and used a nearby knife to cut it into pieces. She'd barely got the first piece cut off when Gingersnap was on the table and eating it.

Gabby smiled at her parrot as she cut up the apple, eating one piece as she did so.

While she'd been productive during the day, she couldn't help thinking her life had become a fairly boring routine. She'd originally had a very busy routine with Jay and Jafar; cooking, cleaning, taking care of the shop, and stealing things to keep Jafar happy. She rarely had any time to herself. Now, however, she only left the hideout, which had become her sanctuary, once or twice a week. She didn't have to cook as often, though she sometimes did just to give herself something to do. Otherwise, she didn't often have anything to do. Obviously, she would work on clothes like she'd been doing most of the day. She also tried to practice some self-defense moves on her mannequin and worked with Gingersnap. After seeing her faithful parrot frequently come to her aide and rescue, Gabby figured she could try to train her to do so on command.

After cutting up the apple, Gabby ate one more piece before leaving the rest to her feathered companion. Gingersnap was making weird piggy noises as she gobbled down her favorite fruit. Gabby, meanwhile, returned to Jay's couch and curled up under one of the sleeping bags. She grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and began writing yet another letter to Jay. She knew he'd never read them, but she found it therapeutic.

It was a small, mildly delusional connection to Auradon.

*~0~*

Gabby exchanged a handful of gold coins for a few apples and a peach, feeling a warm rush in her stomach that she was actually buying something, and she hadn't even stolen the gold she was using, either! She'd managed to find a few coins on the floor of one of the Auradon barges that morning, and she was putting them to good use.

She turned to leave and accidentally bumped into someone. She could easily tell without even looking that this person was big, more so in width than height, so she ducked her head, backed off, and turned to go another way.

"Hey, you're Gabrielle, right?"

Gabby paused and looked back in confusion. The guy she'd bumped into was a teenager like her, and obviously a pirate, which made her even more cautious. He was about the same height as her, but really big. He had an eye patch over one eye, a red bandana over his forehead, and was wearing a faded yellow vest over a stained t-shirt.

"Um…"

"The girl who lived with Jay and Jafar?" the guy urged when Gabby made no move to answer him. He took a step toward her so they were several feet away from each other, and while that should have made her more nervous, he didn't seem threatening at all. Most pirates had an arrogant, sinister aura about them, which this guy seemed to lack.

"Uh, yeah. Gabby." she finally answered.

"Did Jay ever track you down?" he asked.

Gabby blinked. "What? 'Track me down'?" she repeated, completely confused.

The guy winced. "Guess that's a 'no'." he decided. Glancing around, he turned and headed toward a nearby alley. When he looked back to see that Gabby hadn't followed, he gestured for her to do so. When she merely gave him a distrustful look, because did he really expect her to follow him into an alley, he rolled his eyes and grabbed a nearby broom.

"Here. You can have this, if you want." his remaining eye twinkled mischievously. "The whole Isle heard how you beat up Harry Hook with a broom."

Gabby's lips twitched and she slowly followed him. She took the broom and stood facing him in the alley.

"I'm Big Murph." the pirate introduced himself.

"Gabby, though you already knew that. So, what's this about?" she asked.

"Well,…I suppose you didn't hear that Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos were on the Isle a couple weeks back?"

Gabby's jaw fell open. "What?" she breathed in shock. "They-they were _here_?" she repeated.

Big Murph nodded. "Yeah. I ran into Jay at the Junk Shop. In his defense, he was looking for you. He asked me where you and Jafar were. I barely even knew who you were, so I obviously had no clue where you were."

Gabby struggled to swallow as she nodded her head. "O-okay. Why were they here?"

"Well, their parents were planning to escape the Isle." Big Murph explained slowly. "So they came back to make sure that didn't happen."

Gabby nodded slowly, still trying to process what was being said. "And…none of them tried to find me? I mean, they knew where I would probably be since I wasn't at the Junk Shop." Jay would know better than anyone that Gabby spent almost all of her free time at their hideout; so why wouldn't he have at least checked there?

Big Murph looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well, I can't speak for them, but it happened really fast. Like, they probably weren't even here for 24 hours. We needed to stop Jafar, Cruella, and Evil Queen."

Gabby nodded quickly. "Right. That makes sense. I understand." At least, she was trying to. Then, something Big Murph said registered in her mind. "Wait, 'we'. You helped them?" she checked. "But…you're a villain."

Big Murph scratched the back of his neck, glancing around as if to check no one was listening in. "Weeeell…you're not really a villain, either, are you?"

Gabby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Responding to that would be a stupid mistake on my part." she pointed out warily.

Big Murph nodded. "True. But the same can be said about assuming that everyone on the Isle is a villain."

Gabby was slowly catching on, but she didn't want to make any abrupt assumptions. She'd just met this guy a few minutes ago. "You're telling me you're _not_ a villain?"

He smirked slightly. "Maybe. I don't suppose you've ever heard of the Anti-Heroes Club?"

Gabby blinked, holding the broomstick in one hand as she contemplated the answer. "No, but I'm not exactly popular around here. No one talks to me. But isn't an antihero, like…a hero who lacks the typical 'hero' qualities? Like, they're not villains, but they're not goody-goodies. Right?"

Big Murph shrugged. "I guess. Yen Sid said something like that. The name is sneaky, because to most villains it sounds like we're against heroes, but Yen Sid said something similar to what you just said. That antiheroes are good guys, but they sometimes act like villains to do so. Like Robin Hood."

Gabby nodded, impressed by his example. She was impressed by this whole conversation, actually. She hadn't had a conversation like this since before Jay and the others left.

"I thought you were part of Harriet's crew? Surely she wouldn't be okay with you not wanting to be evil." she guessed.

"You got that right." he laughed. "She'd make me walk the plank, for sure. I'm still in her gang, but more so for appearances. I've gotten pretty good at playing the part. Don't blow my cover, though." he added, partially teasing.

"I won't if you won't." she countered, a small grin tugging at her lips. "So,…there are actually other people on the Isle that want to be good?" she asked, still finding that hard to believe. She'd felt like a freak for the longest time because she didn't want to let her resentment and anger fester into hatred and evil. And seeing Mal of all people stand up to her mom and choose to be good just made her want that even more.

"Oh, yeah. A bunch of us started wanting to change after seeing Mal and the others stand up to Maleficent." he assured her. "You should come to one of our meetings."

Gabby shifted anxiously on her feet. "Meetings?" she repeated uncertainly.

He nodded. "Yeah. We used to have them in the Evil Queen's basement when she was missing, but since she's back, we had to find a new place. So, Yen Sid decided for us all to meet at his cottage near Dragon Hall. We meet up, and he kinda gives us lessons on manners and stuff, and we all just kinda hang out. It's pretty chill. I bet you'd get along with some of the members."

Gabby chewed her bottom lip in deliberation. On the one hand, how did she know she could trust these people? She wouldn't put it past most villains to make this all up just to lure her to some abandoned, distant cottage to beat her up. But on the other hand, this guy didn't seem evil at all. And it would be nice to be able to meet and talk with people who wouldn't judge or mock her for wanting to be good.

"When's the next meeting?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Ch 13 (Still 2015; 4 months to D2)**

Gabby peaked between the clear, paint spattered flaps; a habit she'd taken up since seeing Uma's gang trashing the salon weeks ago. To her relief, however, Dizzy was alone, sweeping up a small pile of pink hair on the ground.

"Psst!" Gabby hissed, mostly for fun. "Psst, Dizzy!"

Dizzy's head snapped up, and a wide smile instantly spread over her face. "Gabby! Hi!"

"Hey, you alone? I've got a surprise for you."

Dizzy hopped slightly in her spot. "Yeah, I'm alone. What's the surprise?"

Gabby stepped through the flaps into the room, and Dizzy squealed. Gabby was wearing her new outfit in public for the first time.

Her red leather outfit was loose enough that it was easy to maneuver in, and the skirt was loose enough and short enough she could easily run or even kick if she needed to. The jacket was buttoned up with big, black buttons, and her thick belt was fastened loosely around her lower stomach, hiding where her skirt was connected to her jacket by a tiny zipper. With it she was wearing black tights, black combat boots, and black fingerless gloves.

"Oh my gosh!" Dizzy squealed, dropping the broom and hurrying across the room to get a closer look at the outfit she designed. "It looks even better in real life!" she exclaimed, lifting up Gabby's arms. Gabby rolled her eyes playfully, slipping her backpack off her shoulder and putting it on the ground before holding her arms out so Dizzy could get a good look. "I love it! It looks so good on you!" Dizzy exclaimed.

"Well, that is thanks to you, you know." Gabby pointed out. It was true; Gabby could sew and follow patterns and sketches, but it was Dizzy, like Evie, who had the true eye and creative mind of a designer.

Dizzy was extremely bubbly over seeing an outfit she'd designed in the flesh. Designing and making her own jewelry was one thing, but she rarely had the material or space to make a full outfit. "Oh, but it's perfect! It's almost as amazing as seeing it on an Auradon runway! I love it!"

Gabby laughed, unable to help finding Dizzy's excitement contagious. "Well, this isn't _necessarily_ the surprise I was talking about." she pointed out lightly.

"What else could there be?" Dizzy asked, confused despite the wide smile she was known for.

Gabby was also smiling as she leaned down to open her backpack, pulling out the similar outfit she'd made for Dizzy. The bubbly young girl gasped and squealed even louder than before at the sight of the outfit that was obviously made for her.

It was a similar design to Gabby's, but obviously different to fit Dizzy's style and smaller size. Of course, she'd made it a bit looser so Dizzy could grow into it for a bit, too. It was a similar blue to the apron Dizzy liked to wear. The shoulders were loose and a bit puffy, to match the style of Dizzy's frock, with ¾ length sleeves that flared out a bit at the ends. A thin, tied belt near the waist covered where the jacket and skirt were connected by a thin zipper. The skirt was made of the same blue leather, flared out a bit more than Gabby's, and was just short enough to allow the ends of Dizzy's dress to peak out at the bottom.

"Oh, it's _perfect_!" Dizzy squealed, reaching out and touching the sleeves as if afraid it would disappear. "I love it!"

"Well, try it on." Gabby urged, almost as excited as she handed the jacket to Dizzy.

It took a few minutes for Dizzy to get into the outfit and zip it up over her dress. Once fully in it, she skipped over to a cracked mirror to look at her reflection. She even twirled a few times before doing a little jig.

"Oh! It's perfect! I love it! Thank you, thank you, _thank you!_ " Dizzy squealed, leaping on Gabby and nearly hugging her to death. Gabby laughed, lifting Dizzy a couple inches off the ground in returning the hug. It was moments like this that made the Isle tolerable. Barely.

"You're more than welcome, Dizzy." Gabby assured her. "I'm glad you like it. Just remember, I couldn't have made it without your amazing design."

Dizzy beamed and skipped around throughout the rest of Gabby's visit. That was when Gabby realized something. Visiting Dizzy, talking with her, making her laugh and smile; it all gave Gabby a purpose. If it wasn't for Dizzy, Gabby would probably hole herself up in her little hideout indefinitely, coming out as rarely as possible. She already did that anyway, but she came out at least a couple times a week, more often than she would without Dizzy.

And seeing how happy she'd managed to make the young girl by her one action, Gabby knew she'd risk venturing the Isle to keep that smile on Dizzy's young face. Even if it put her at risk of being ganged up on and beaten up by the other teens, it would be worth it.

And she decided for certain in that moment that she would go to the next meeting Big Murph had told her about for the Anti-Heroes Club. If there was a group out there working to help villains become good, she was going to at least visit, so she could maybe do something to help other kids choose good.

*~0~*

Gabby glanced around warily, the silence feeling eerie as she passed the dark graveyard under limited moonlight. Across the graveyard was an old repurposed tomb, which had been turned into Dragon Hall years ago. It made Gabby happy she didn't have to go to school there.

Following Big Murph's directions, Gabby moved around the graveyard toward the forest on the far side. She followed a worn path through the trees until she finally saw a dimly-lit cottage in a small clearing. She could see a couple shapes moving past the lit windows.

Gabby took a deep breath as she stopped in front of the door, reaching back to touch the staff on her back to assure herself it was there. Finally, she knocked three times on the wooden surface.

The low buzzing of conversation in the cottage fell silent for a few seconds before the door creaked open to reveal a tiny eye surrounded by wrinkled skin.

"Yes?"

"Um,…I'm Gabby. I was told to come here?" Gabby announced nervously. "Big Murph told me to."

"Ah, of course." the voice instantly became friendly and the door swung open. A long arm gestured her in and Gabby hesitantly stepped inside. She didn't know what to look at first, still on edge being in a strange place surrounded by strange people.

The cottage was a bit bigger than it looked from the outside. It was all one room; a small kitchen with a firewood stove was on one side, with a small table near it, a beat up old couch next to the door, and a twin bed against the far wall. The small space felt even smaller with all the kids crammed inside and staring at her.

"So, you must be Gabrielle." the elderly man spoke, bringing Gabby's attention back to him. "I've heard quite a bit about you." he added. He was slender and half bald with a long, gray beard. He was dressed in a blue wizards robe and a pointed hat. "I'm Yen Sid."

"It's nice to meet you." Gabby told him, shaking the wrinkled hand he offered. "And I prefer Gabby."

"What's with the weapon?" Gabby looked over her shoulder to see a girl about her age with fair skin and black hair with blue highlights. She flicked Gabby's naginata, which was strapped to her back. She'd finally managed to make the weapon after deciding to only make it about five feet tall instead of eight, so it was just a bit shorter than Gabby.

"Back off, Yzla." Big Murph stood from where he'd been sitting at the small, wooden table. "Can you really blame her for wanting to be prepared? Especially when Uma and Hook have it out for her."

A couple people murmured in agreement and a couple even threw smiles in Gabby's direction.

"Can I see it? It looks so cool!" a younger boy, maybe twelve or thirteen years old with light blue hair, hurried up to and around Gabby to look at the weapon on her back.

Gabby chuckled nervously, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"It does give you a bit of an edgier look." another boy commented from where he was leaning back against the far wall. He was dressed in black, white, and red and his hair was styled in a black and white Mohawk. "From the way Carlos always talked about you, I pictured you as this little mousy nerd, like him. I'm his cousin, Diego." the boy told her when she gave him a curious look. She nodded. She could definitely see the family resemblance.

"So, you're Gaston's infamous daughter, huh?" another girl spoke up from where she stood at the stove, boiling water in a teapot with a shorter girl. "I saw you play outside a few times when we were little. I'm Claudine Frollo. My dad and I live near Gaston."

Gabby nodded. "I recognize you." she told Claudine, who had fair skin, dark hair, and gray eyes.

"Come on in, dear. Make yourself comfortable." Yen Sid told her, waving her farther into the tiny cottage. "I'm sorry there aren't many places to sit. I'm in the process of finding us a better meeting place."

"That's fine." Gabby told him, moving to sit on the floor near the door.

"Now, since we have a visitor, who will hopefully be joining us more often," Yen Sid spoke aloud to everyone, throwing a warm smile at Gabby, which she returned shyly, "I thought I could get out a nice treat that I got shipped from Auradon." The small group sitting on the bed leaned forward with curious, eager expressions. "They're called biscuits; similar to cookies. I have enough for everyone to have two." he announced, pulling out a couple packages and setting them on the counter next to the stove. He emptied both packages onto a large plate, half of the cookies were a pale yellow, the other half were brown. "Claudine, Hermie, if you could both pour the tea, please?" Yen Sid asked politely as he began moving around and offering the plate to the other kids.

Even though she knew these people were different, Gabby was still surprised that everyone actually obeyed Yen Sid's request of only taking two biscuits a piece. And most of them even said thank you! When Yen Sid held the plate toward Gabby, she hesitated before taking one of each color, as she assumed they were different flavors.

Claudine and Hermie, a younger, short girl, moved around and poured tea into teacups for everyone. Gabby returned their smiles and thanked them when they poured steaming tea into a chipped mug and gave it to her.

When the two girls approached the group sitting on the bed, a taller boy wrinkled his nose. "I don't want any tea. That stuff's nasty."

There was a short pause and Yen Sid looked over at the boy from over his teacup where he was sitting at the table. He had a small smile on his face. "Is there a better way you could say that, Jace?"

Jace blinked, looking lost. "Um…" Then, his eyes lit up. "Oh, right." he turned to Claudine and Hermie. "No thank you?"

The two girls smiled and moved on to the shorter boy who looked like a chubbier version of Jace. Gabby couldn't help silently laughing. After only five minutes in the company of these people, she could easily see herself being a part of this group.

*~0~*

Gabby glanced nervously once more at the small box in her hands, contemplating for about the seventeenth time throwing it into the bushes as she knocked on Yen Sid's door. Gingersnap perched contently on Gabby's shoulder, as usual.

Gabby had only been to one other meeting with the Anti-Heroes Club since her first one, and she was still warming up to the group as a whole, having gotten used to being alone so much. But they were a really great group of kids, people she actually got along with. She was even comfortable enough to take her weapon off her person when she hung out with them. Gingersnap had met them, too, and was comfortable around them now.

But she was still slightly nervous about the box in her hands. This was pushing at the edges of her comfort zone. But all opportunities to ditch it had passed as Yen Sid answered the door.

"Ah, Gabby." he beamed at her. "Come in, come in!" he insisted, standing back and waving her in. Most of the Club were sitting around the room, much like the first time Gabby had visited, but no one was standing at the stove boiling water this time. "Due to the heat, we thought we'd have something a bit cooler than tea to drink. Hermie managed to bring some flat soda from her father's." Yen Sid explained as Harry offered Gabby a plastic bottle of soda. This Harry was very different from Harry Hook. Jace and Harry were cousins, the sons of Cruella's henchmen Horace and Jasper. This Harry was as short and round as Jace was tall and slender, but other than that they almost looked like brothers.

Gabby shifted her box into one hand to take the bottle with a smile. "Thanks."

"Dude, her hands are full." Jace pointed out, nudging his cousin with his elbow where they sat on the small bed against the wall.

"Oh, sorry." Harry apologized with a small frown.

"That's okay." Gabby smiled reassuringly as she took the bottle.

"What do you have there?" Big Murph asked curiously from where he sat at the table with Eddie, Yzla, and Hadie.

"Oh, um,…I just thought I'd bring some snacks. If no one wants them, I won't be offended or anything." Gabby rambled. Yen Sid smiled reassuringly at her.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the box since her hands were now full. Gabby nodded, passing him the box. He opened it and his smile grew. "Well, these just look delicious!" he insisted. "You didn't make these, did you?" he asked as Claudine and Diego peaked over his shoulders at the open box.

"Yeah, I did. They're like a…no-bake applesauce cookies. I think they taste good, but…" she shrugged awkwardly, silently wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

Yen Sid plucked one cookie from the box and took a bite. His eyes went wide and he nodded his head. "Delicious! You have a real talent, Gabrielle!"

Gabby blushed, trying to smother her smile as the box was passed around. Several voices echoed Yen Sid's compliments and Gabby was sure her face was permanently stained red.

"How did you make these this sweet?" Claudine asked with her mouth full, her gray eyes wide and fixed on Gabby in amazement. "There's nothing this sweet on the Isle."

"I find things." Gabby shrugged. Harry and Jace scooted over on the bed to make room for her to sit with them. "My mom taught me a lot about cooking and stuff, and what kinds of things you can find to cook with. Obvious things like berries and herbs, as well as honey and maple sap."

"Wow. You should bring things like this more often." Yzla decided, reaching for a second cookie.

"Yzla." Yen Sid chided with a smile.

"Please?"

 **AN: So, Gabby's officially met and joined the Anti-Heroes! Please feel free to review and let me know what you all thought of this chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ch 14 (Still 2015; 3 months to D2)**

It had been nearly a month since Gabby started to attend meetings with the Anti-Heroes Club. She didn't go to every meeting, because she was still wary of venturing out of her hideout too often, but she made sure to meet up with some of them about once a week or so. She got along best with Claudine, Big Murph, and Jace. Diego was cool, too, but Gabby liked his cousin Carlos better. The whole club was cool, really, and Gabby felt like she connected with all of them on some level.

After spending an afternoon with Dizzy, Gabby was heading home for the night. The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the alleys and market. When she turned a corner into another dark back alley, a dark shape stepped into the entrance of the alley ahead, blocking her path.

Gabby slowed her pace almost to a stop while Gingersnap growled from her perch on Gabby's shoulder. The person up ahead was wearing a pirate's hat, though she couldn't tell who it was.

She was just considering turning around and finding another way home, but a glance over her shoulder revealed another two pirates approaching from behind.

A low, consistent growl was rumbling from Gingersnap's feathered body as she twisted her head this way and that, trying to keep all the pirates in view at once. Gabby tried to do the same, not wanting to be caught unawares.

Unfortunately, more and more pirate-shaped shadows were rounding corners and appearing seemingly out of thin air, leaving Gabby with no escape. The group closed in and Gabby backed up until her heel touched a wall, so she was only surrounded on three sides with her back protected.

The group continued closing in until they were tightly crowded around Gabby, leaving less than a foot of free space around her. Harry Hook, of course, was front and center smirking at her, but to Gabby's surprise the pirate crew parted to let someone else step to the front until she stood just in front of Harry's shoulder.

A tattered, black tricorn hat decorated with starfish sat atop Uma's aqua-colored braids as she stopped right in front of Gabby, who subconsciously reached back behind her hip to ensure her naginata was still there.

"So," Uma started, her quiet, rich voice echoing in the silent alley, "you're the one who's giving my crew so many problems, huh?"

"I'm not giving anyone any problems." Gabby stated slowly. "I just don't want to be part of any gangs right now. It's not my fault Harry can't take no for an answer."

Several people cackled, and the sound was not reassuring. Uma herself smirked slightly, her dark eyes fixed on Gabby's face.

"Fair enough." Uma conceded, making Harry roll his eyes. "You don't belong here, do you?" she asked, though the question was clearly rhetorical.

Gabby blinked, unsure how to respond. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I suppose no one _belongs_ here." Uma continued. "Living on a garbage heap while all the _heroes_ get to live a life of luxury in their castles." she added, sneering the word 'heroes'. "And it must sting even more for you." she went on. "After everything the Beast did to your dad-"

"My father got what he deserved." Gabby interrupted her tightly. "I don't care about what happened to him before I was born. I refuse to be his little minion, or to even waste my breath working to avenge him. I couldn't care less."

Surprisingly, Uma laughed. Clearly, Gabby wasn't the only one thrown off by her response, as a couple other pirates exchanged looks or gave forced chuckles.

"You know, I _actually_ agree with you." Uma finally said. "It's the same with me and my mom. Our parents don't care about us, so why should we bother caring about them?"

Gabby studied her warily, unsure what was happening. Why was no one attacking her already? "Yeah?" she said hesitantly.

Uma took a step forward, bringing her closer to Gabby's face. "But you know something that really sucks?" she asked, once again not expecting an answer. "The fact that the new King brought four kids from this dump to his precious Auradon."

Bile rose in Gabby's throat at the reminder.

"I've got a bit of a history with Mal." Uma went on. "So watching her get chosen over me to go to Auradon…?" Uma trailed off, not really needing to add anything to that statement. She chuckled harshly. "And now she's a _princess_ , dating the King and living the perfect life. Surely seeing that sucks even more for you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gabby argued instantly, raising her chin in defiance.

"You lived with Jay, you were his little…pet. And you were basically a member of Mal's gang, yet they had no problem leaving you here. They haven't sent for you. And if Mal's dating the King, I'm sure she's had plenty of opportunities to do so. That's just salt in the wound, ain't it?"

Gabby struggled to find a response. "Is there a reason for this discussion?"

Uma chuckled, clearly able to see that she'd gotten under Gabby's skin. "I know Harry's offered you a spot on my crew several times in the past. I'll admit, I was dubious about letting you join; you aren't exactly fighting material. But lately…you've peaked my interest. Surely it must be difficult, being alone around here. Having no one to watch your back, especially when you were betrayed by the only people you trusted. Are you sure there's no way we could persuade you to join us?"

Gabby narrowed her eyes dubiously, letting them travel over the people surrounding her. The very people who'd attacked, beaten, and tortured her numerous times over the years. Could she really join them? Did she want to? Uma was Mal's arch enemy. Jay and Harry hate each other. _She_ hated Harry Hook even more than Jay.

"Don't tell me you still feel loyalty to Mal and the others after they abandoned you here." Uma said quietly, picking up on the internal struggle Gabby was facing.

Gabby struggled to swallow past the lump that formed in her throat. Did Uma have a point? Should she join them? If for no other reason, should she join Uma to spite Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie? Uma seemed to have similar opinions to Gabby. She wanted off the Isle, just like Gabby did.

But then Gabby's eyes focused on Harry and some of the other pirates. Pirates who had ganged up on Gabby several times. Pirates who'd trashed Dizzy's salon.

And just like that, other faces appeared in Gabby's mind. Images of Dizzy, Big Murph, Claudine, Yzla, and the rest of the Anti-Heroes. People who truly had similar ideals to Gabby. People who wanted to leave the Isle, but who also wanted to be good. They didn't want revenge, they just wanted the chance to prove to Auradon that they could be good.

And with those thoughts, Gabby took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, meeting Uma's dark eyes with her own light blue.

"I agree with you on some issues, but I'm going to have to say no. It has nothing to do with loyalty to Mal; I just don't want to join any gangs right now." Gabby stated firmly, tensing in preparation to fight her way out.

Uma sighed, but otherwise didn't give anything away with her expression.

"If you're not with us, you're against us." Uma warned. "We look out for our own."

"I'm not against anyone." Gabby argued calmly. "I just want to be left alone. I only cause your crew problems when they attack me. I defend myself. That's it."

Harry seemed pleased with Gabby's answer, which wasn't a good sign.

"Very well." Uma stated calmly, raising a hand and waving it in some sort of signal. "I guess we'll have to proceed with our initiation, then."

Gabby eyed them all warily as the crowd shifted and parted behind Uma and Harry. "'Initiation'?" she repeated warily.

Uma smirked slightly. "We've got a new member, and he needs to prove his loyalty to us."

Gabby watched tensely as someone stepped through the crowd to stand between Harry and Uma. She felt her stomach drop when she saw his face.

Gil had changed a bit since the last time she'd seen him properly about three years ago. He'd only been 13 when their father sold Gabby to Jay, so he would be about sixteen by now; a year older than Gabby. All Gaston's kids were basically born about 11 months apart; Gil 11 months after the twins, and Gabby 11 months after him. Gil had lost most of the baby fat around his face, leaving him with chiseled cheekbones and the infamous cleft chin he got from their father. His blonde hair was just visible, hanging out from under a brown bandana. A burnt orange, sleeveless leather jacket showed that his arms had bulked up, probably attempting to try their father's "four dozen eggs a day" diet.

Gil glanced anxiously at Uma, and other than a quick glance at Gabby, he refused to make eye contact with his younger sister.

"You remember Gil, right?" Uma asked, smirking at Gabby as she rested her elbow on Gil's shoulder.

Gabby took a shaky breath, her eyes fixed on her brother even though he was looking anywhere but at her.

"He wants to join our crew." Uma continued. "And he'd certainly make an excellent addition. We just need to test his loyalty. He needs to be loyal to us above _all else_." Uma explained firmly, her eyes fixed on Gabby's face.

And Gabby understood with perfect clarity. Gil needed to prove that family ties wouldn't get in the way of helping Uma and her crew. He needed to prove to Uma and the others that he would fight _anyone_ he needed to in order to support his new gang.

"Take her down, Gil." Uma ordered simply, dropping her elbow and stepping back. The rest of the crew stepped back, also, though they made sure there were no gaps that Gabby could escape from.

Gingersnap was growling from Gabby's shoulder. Gabby quickly pulled her naginata from her back and held it at the ready.

Gil slowly pulled his sword from the sheath at his hip before he finally met Gabby's eyes with his. Gil was usually a slow-witted, happy-go-lucky guy; had been since they were toddlers. Gabby always thought his cheerful attitude was just another way he took after their mom. But one look in his brown eyes showed that he didn't want to do this. He didn't want to, but he had to. And he wanted to prove his loyalty to Uma and join her crew. And this was the only way, in Uma's mind.

Gabby held her naginata in both hands, ready and waiting for Gil to make the first move.

*~0~*

"Slow down, you stupid bird." a faraway voice echoed in Gabby's ears. "We can't fly over buildings like you, ya know."

Gabby groaned quietly as the darkness slowly receded from her mind, making her very much aware of the aching and stinging everywhere on her body. She was laying on something cold and rough, which scraped against her cheek when she moved.

"Gab. Gab." another familiar voice sounded much closer, before something tugged on her hair and then pecked at her cheek. She groaned again, trying to move away from whatever was bothering her.

"Harry!" a girl's voice called suddenly. Gabby tensed at the name, terror jolting through her weak body at the thought of Harry Hook coming back when she couldn't defend herself. "Jace! It's Gabby!"

A hand touched the back of Gabby's head and she instinctively tried to move away from it, a whimper falling from her lips.

"Shh. It's okay, Gabby. You're safe." the girl's voice told her gently.

"Is she okay? What happened to her?" a guy's voice asked worriedly. Gabby struggled to open her eyes, knowing these voices were familiar to her. Thankfully, none of the voices struck terror through her yet.

"Hook." another familiar voice growled. Gabby's hand shifted and brushed soft feathers. She instantly relaxed. Her faithful parrot had returned to her.

"Hook?" another guy's voice repeated. "So, Uma's crew did this?"

"Makes sense." the girl's voice admitted. "But let's worry about that later. Gabby needs help."

"We can take her to Yzma's shop." a boy suggested. "Yzla should be there, and she's a potion expert. She'd know what to do."

"Good idea." the girl agreed. "We can go through the back alleys. I think there's a path that will lead straight to the backdoor of Yzma's potion shop."

The next thing Gabby knew, her arms were being draped over two things, which felt like shoulders, and she was being half walked, half carried away. The cool breeze caused by their movement stirred Gabby a little further. She forced her eyes open and became more aware of her surroundings. She could see the familiar dark hair and black and periwinkle clothes of Claudine walking ahead of her, obviously checking the coast was clear as they went. She also could guess who was carrying her, by the fact that one set of shoulders was tall and slender while the other set was short and wide. It was probably Harry and Jace Badun, which explained why someone had said Harry's name earlier. It wasn't Harry Hook like her half-conscious mind thought.

It felt like she'd hardly blinked before she was gently being set on the ground. She was sitting up, her back leaning against what felt like a brick wall. She groaned when her tender back touched the surface through her leather jacket. She forced herself awake and looked up to see Harry and Jace looking worriedly down at her.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

Gabby forced a smile, feeling Gingersnap perch on her shoulder. "I've been better." she admitted. A door nearby opened and Claudine stepped back outside from the building she'd apparently entered.

"She'll be out in a minute. She's gathering some supplies." Claudine explained, crouching down next to Gabby. "Hey, can you tell us what happened?" she asked Gabby in a gentle voice that almost took her by surprise.

Gabby swallowed. "Uma asked me to join her crew. They don't take 'no' for an answer very well." she explained briefly.

"They've asked you several times already, haven't they?" Jace asked. "Why do they keep bothering?"

Gabby shrugged. "Well, Uma's never asked me in person before." she pointed out. If she'd wanted to continue, she would've been drowned out a second later.

"Shut _up_ , Zevon!" a voice screeched from inside the building. "What I do is none of your business! Now just clean Mom's cauldron before she gets home! I'm not being punished because you can't do the _one job_ she ordered you to do!"

The group all watched as the door opened so Yzla could storm from the building. She kicked it shut behind her, still fuming as she clutched several vials in her arms.

"Brothers." she growled.

Gabby forced a chuckle. "I know what you mean."

Yzla's face softened as she caught sight of Gabby. She instantly crouched on the ground next to her. "Hey, Gabs. Can you explain your injuries?"

Gabby grimaced as she tried to sit up. "Um, I definitely have bruises all over my back, ribs, and stomach-"

"And your face." Harry interrupted, staring at her face. She probably had a black eye or bruised nose. She could maybe feel the sticky feeling of dried blood on her upper lip.

Gabby sighed. "Yeah, that too. And I've got some…cuts all over." she added, remembering the stinging of the sword blade cutting into her skin. She sighed in defeat. "Apparently Gil's initiation into Uma's crew was…fighting me."

The group gaped at her before Yzla quietly asked her to take her jacket off so she could get a better look at her injuries.

"So,…did you not fight back or what?" Claudine asked hesitantly.

"I did fight back." Gabby answered. She could understand why Claudine asked. Gabby could easily fight back in a fair, one-on-one fight nowadays. "But…it wasn't a fair fight. Sure, Gil did the fighting, but some of the others interfered. They took my naginata and snapped it in half. And they were closed in around us so I couldn't escape. Hell, I could barely move. Every time I dodged away from Gil's sword, someone would push me from behind."

"Figures the pirates would fight dirty." Claudine growled, crossing her arms.

Gabby hissed when Yzla dabbed a rag wet with some potion on her back where a long cut traveled from her ribs to her spine. Other than that she remained quiet as Yzla tended to her wounds, lost in her thoughts.

This right here was why she'd turned Uma down, despite their similar opinions. Even if she agreed with Uma about not belonging on the Isle, or fighting their parents' battles, she didn't agree with what Uma would probably be willing to do to achieve their freedom.

Claudine, Harry, and Jace didn't have to stop and help Gabby. Yzla didn't have to waste her potions to help heal Gabby. But here they were, doing just that. Not because they had to, or because they would get something out of it; but because they wanted to.

"Hey, guys?" Gabby spoke just above a whisper, but it easily gained their attention. "Thanks."

All four teens grinned at her, though Harry rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Don't forget to thank Gingersnap." Claudine pointed out with a smirk. "We wouldn't have found you without her."

Gabby grinned, turning to look at the parrot perched on her shoulder. Gingersnap instantly rubbed her head against Gabby's cheek.

"Thank you, too, Gingersnap."

Gingersnap played bashful by hiding her face under her wing. "Aw!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Ch 15 (Still 2015; 2 months to D2)**

Gabby put away the jacket she'd been working on most of the day. She'd taken a couple days to just chill in the hideout and work on some projects. She was making some jackets for a couple other members of the Anti-Heroes club, and she was thinking of stitching a very subtle, tiny 'AH' somewhere in their jackets, for the Anti-Heroes.

After working over the desk for a few hours, Gabby was ready to stretch out on the couch with a small dinner to watch some TV.

Making a simple sandwich and feeding Gingersnap some seeds and fruit, Gabby relaxed into the red leather couch and turned the old TV on. Since she rarely changed the channel, the Auradon News Network appeared onscreen. The familiar jingle and insignia that appeared announced the featured prince of the week.

Gabby paused halfway through a bite of her sandwich when she saw the professional photograph of the featured prince, his name appearing next to the photo as a voiceover announced who he was.

 _"And now, we've got this weeks featured prince. Anyone who doesn't know Prince Aziz is living under a rock. Aziz, the son of Aladdin and Jasmine, is active in school activities, sports, and charity events"_

The photo showed a teenage boy with short black hair, tan skin, and dark eyes. He resembled Jay somewhat, probably due to their similar ethnicity.

 _"Attending Auradon Prep, Aziz helped his Tourney team win the championship as number 11 on the team and just earned his spot on the R.O.A.R. team last week. He says his favorite class is Basic Chivalry, and when he graduates he would like to travel all across Auradon before he begins training to become Sultan in his father's place. He also said that he wants to help his mother start a reserve for endangered animals, especially tigers._

 _"But what everyone surely wants to know about Prince Aziz…is how he feels about attending school with the son of his parents' enemy."_

Gabby once again paused in her chewing as her mind registered those words.

 _"When we asked Aziz how well he gets along with Jay, the son of Jafar, he actually said that they've become good friends. They have a couple classes together and they're teammates both on the Tourney team as well as R.O.A.R, also known as Swords and Shields. This clip here shows a particular moment of celebration. Prince Aziz had blocked a couple members of an opposing team, allowing Jay to score one of many winning goals."_

Sure enough, a clip had begun playing as the person spoke. Gabby had watched enough tourney games by now to recognize it. Jay was easy to recognize, due to his long hair hanging out of his helmet. His jersey said number 8. He was clearly celebrating among his teammates in front of a goal, his gloved hands thrown in the air. Then a boy in jersey number 11 ran up with the rest of the team and was among a manly group hug of sorts that had engulfed Jay. Jay even appeared to give Aziz a noogie, their laughing faces barely visible through their helmets.

Gabby couldn't help smiling. Jay was so happy and carefree in that clip. It was easy to see that he loved playing tourney. She hoped he loved playing R.O.A.R just as much, whatever that sport was. She hoped they aired the games or meets on the TV so she could watch them.

Gabby watched the program for a couple more minutes before she reached over to the desk nearby, grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil from the green cup. Sitting back on the couch, she resolved to write a letter to Jay, something she hadn't done in weeks.

*~0~*

Gabby slowly raised her naginata at an angle, and the broomstick made contact with it inches from her face.

"Good job." Gabby grinned as she lowered the weapon. Hermie pulled the broom back and stepped away with a proud smile.

"How did you make that thing, anyway?" Claudine asked from across the room, her words muffled around a mouthful of food. She was sitting at a cluttered table in Curl Up & Dye, eating out of a tin of treats Gabby had made. Gingersnap was perched on her shoulder begging for food. Just past her, Yzla was seated in a paint-splattered salon chair while Dizzy touched up the blue highlights in Yzla's black hair.

Gabby smiled proudly down at her new naginata. Her old one had been taken and snapped by someone in Uma's crew during Gil's initiation, so she'd made a new, better one. Her old one had basically been a sword blade attached to a broomstick. This one was stronger and, frankly, cooler looking.

"It was more work than my first one." Gabby admitted to the others, looking down at her weapon. "The staff part is an old indoor lamp post." she explained, sitting at the table and holding it up for Claudine to see. "Cutting it was a pain, obviously, but I managed to find a saw on the barges that did the job. I figured it'd be better to go with a metal staff considering how easily my old wooden one was snapped in half. The blade is just a sword blade. I put a slit in the top here and used hot glue to stick the blade in place." she explained, pointing at where the blade met the stick, though they couldn't really see anything.

"And was it always black, or did you paint it?" Claudine asked curiously, looking closely at it.

"I painted it." she admitted. "And I wrapped red fabric around the top, both to help hold the blade in place and to hide the glue. Plus, I think it looks cool." she explained, looking at how the red fabric wrapped around the black-painted staff where the blade was connected to it. "And it goes with my outfit." she joked, holding it near her shoulder so it was against her sleeveless black leather jacket. The other girls laughed.

"What about your hair?" Dizzy asked curiously.

Gabby blinked. "Um, what about my hair?" she asked in confusion.

Dizzy narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at the black hair framing Gabby's face in gentle, natural waves. "Well, your whole look is edgy and cool now, so why do you still have boring black hair?"

Gabby blinked, glancing at both Hermie and Claudine, both of which had black hair, as well. Of course, their haircuts made them look a bit edgier than Gabby's. Hermie's hair was short with layers. Claudine didn't care much about how she looked, and her confident attitude made her look cool anyway. The most Gabby usually did with her hair was brush it and usually put it in a ponytail.

"Um,…what color is it supposed to be?" Gabby asked hesitantly, unsure how to respond to Dizzy's question as she finished up Yzla's hair.

Dizzy tilted her head, her narrowed eyes scanning Gabby's hair thoughtfully.

"You know," Yzla spoke up, having turned in the seat to eye Gabby with everyone else, "the rest of your outfit tends to be red and black. Your hair's already black. Maybe throw some red in there? Like red highlights or something?" she suggested.

Dizzy hummed thoughtfully, approaching Gabby and holding a section of Gabby's hair in one gloved hand as she surveyed it. Dizzy had cut Gabby's hair a handful of times in the last year and a half, but that was all she'd done. Gabby had never seen the point in dyeing or styling her hair before.

Then, Dizzy's face lit up. "I have an idea! Can I pretty _please_ dye your hair? And cut it? Pretty please?" she begged, clasping her hands together.

Gabby eyed her dubiously. "I don't know." she answered warily. "I'm not much of a fashionista like you guys. I'm more into…practical. Things that are simple and maneuverable. Both with clothes and hair. Heck, I tend to throw my hair into a ponytail just to get it out of my face most of the time."

"What about chopping it?" Hermie suggested, gesturing to her own short, choppy hair.

Gabby grimaced. " _You_ look awesome with short hair. I would look like a boy or something. Not that looks particularly matter to me, but…"

"Okay, what if I made it super easy to take care of?" Dizzy suggested, her eyes still scanning Gabby's hair contemplatively. "You trust me, right?"

Gabby looked up into Dizzy's eager face and sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. Just make sure I like it."

Dizzy squealed, making the other girls laugh. Yzla got up from the salon chair and Gabby took her place, taking a deep breath to relax.

The group continued to talk and laugh as Dizzy went to work on Gabby's hair. The snip of the scissors echoed loudly in her ears as Dizzy trimmed her hair. She then had to tip her head back into a sink as Dizzy dyed it. Gabby's curiosity, and a hint of nerves, mounted as the minutes dragged out into an hour, and maybe longer. It was hard to tell.

Gabby put her foot down on not wanting her nails painted or makeup done, so Dizzy just rinsed the dye out, washed Gabby's hair, and blow dried it into loose waves. When Dizzy finally stepped back with a wide, proud smile, she squealed slightly before pulling Gabby from the chair and ushering her over to the broken mirror nearby.

Gabby ducked slightly to see her broken reflection.

Her previously-black hair had been cut to just below her shoulders, and Dizzy had cut her bangs so that they were wispy and swept just slightly to the side. Most of the top of her hair was still pitch black, but it faded in an ombre style to dark red at the ends. Her hair was still long enough that she could pull it into a ponytail if she wanted to, but the shorter bangs would also make it so that her hair wouldn't fall into her eyes as easily. The red ends contrasted nicely with her black leather vest and fair skin, and was actually a similar color to the burgundy fingerless gloves she was currently wearing.

Despite her previous doubts, she couldn't help by smile. It looked cool. Dizzy did a great job, as usual.

Gabby straightened up and turned to grin at Dizzy and the other girls. "I love it! Dizzy, it's amazing! Thank you!"

"Yay!" Dizzy cheered excitedly.

"Well, well, well," a familiar accented voice spoke from the entrance, sucking all the joy from the room, "what have we here?"

Gabby sighed in annoyance, turning around and instantly grabbing her naginata at the sight of Harry Hook and a couple of his pirate friends.

"What do you want, Hook?" Gabby asked tiredly, annoyed at Harry for once again ruining her good mood.

"Well, that's not nice." Harry chided in his usual arrogant, playful attitude. "And here I was just about to tell you how _nice_ your hair looks." he sneered.

"It's better than your ratty, poop-colored hair that smells like rotten fish." Gabby retorted casually. Claudine snorted while Gingersnap made a sound similar to someone farting with diarrhea.

"Hilarious." Harry drawled sarcastically as he took another step into the salon. "We're here to collect." he added, looking at Dizzy. "Now, chop-chop. Pay up, runt."

Dizzy's shoulders slouched. "We don't have hardly anything in the till. Just some old paper and a rusty screw. Can't you come back tomorrow or something?"

Harry took another step into the room, towering dauntingly over Dizzy. To her credit, she didn't step back, but she did lower her head a bit to make herself smaller.

"I didn't come here tomorrow. I'm here now. So _pay up_." Harry told her slowly.

"Why don't you go harass someone else?" Gabby demanded before her brain could filter the words. All eyes were suddenly on her.

"Pardon?" Harry asked, his tone and stature instantly becoming more intimidating.

"You heard me." Gabby retorted. "You're seriously going to harass someone, a _kid_ , over paper and a screw? Go pick on someone your own size."

Harry scoffed while his two minions stepped up on either side of him to size Gabby up. In response, Claudine and Yzla stepped up to Gabby's sides, while Gingersnap landed on Gabby's shoulder. At the sight of the bird, Jonas flinched, his cheek still bearing Gingersnap's scar. Hermie tugged Dizzy back to stand just behind the older girls.

Harry's ice blue eyes swept over the group contemplatively. "Are we seeing the beginnings of a new gang?" he joked, causing the other two the cackle.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Claudine sneered, resting her elbow on Gabby's shoulder. "Leave Dizzy alone, or you'll get more than you bargained for."

Harry's eyes narrowed as he scanned the five girls before him. He knew his crew could take them, but he'd seen Gabby take out his guys in one-on-one fights, and Harry only had two guys with him. Three guys against four girls, plus the kid and bloody parrot, all for some paper and a rusty screw? He figured it'd be best to pick his fights wisely.

"Very well." Harry conceded, seemingly gracious as he took a step back. "Another day, then." he told them. Jonas and Gonzo exchanged a glance before heading for the door. Before Harry followed them out, he knocked a table of glass beakers over, causing them all to shatter.

Gabby sighed when the plastic flaps swung closed behind him.

"Well, that was fun." Yzla joked, already heading for the broom by the desk to start cleaning up. Gabby set her naginata against the wall and helped Hermie lift the table back onto his legs.

"You know, Harry had a point." Claudine announced thoughtfully. Her announcement caused everyone to pause in what they were doing and stare at her like she'd grown a second head. "About us being a gang. Well, maybe 'gang' is the wrong word, but come on. We're all in the Anti-Heroes Club for a reason. We don't want to be villains. We want to be good, so why don't we all _do_ some good?" Claudine proposed, causing everyone to glance among themselves. "Like Robin Hood. He stole from the rich to give to the poor. Why don't we do something similar? Stand up to people like Uma and Harry in the defense of people like Dizzy? People who can't always stand up for themselves."

Everyone looked among themselves again, most nodding thoughtfully.

"It sounds like a great idea." Gabby agreed. "But not everyone can or should be expected to do that. Some people in the club have to be really careful about what they do, because people still believe they're evil." she pointed out, thinking of Big Murph and how he was still a part of Harriet Hook's crew, but mostly for appearances only.

Claudine nodded. "Fair enough. But no matter who else wants to be involved, I'm going to do it anyway."

Dizzy spoke up slowly. "You know, I suggested to Gabby a long time ago that she could sell the food she makes. Maybe you could also give food to people who need it." she added to Gabby, who nodded thoughtfully.

"That's not a bad idea." she admitted quietly. "Even helping in small ways is still helping. A little good can go a long way."

"We can figure things out as we go." Yzla added. "Start small, doing little acts of good, then maybe work our way up to bigger things, like standing up to bigger gangs like Uma's. We can bring it up at the next Anti-Heroes meeting."

Gabby and the others nodded. "We'll do that. But remember, we can't pressure anyone in the Club to do something they're not comfortable with. We don't know what kinds of problems this could cause certain members. It could make us all targets."

Everyone nodded in solemn agreement. It wouldn't be easy, but they would be doing what's right.

*~0~*

Gabby was among the first people to arrive at Yen Sid's small cottage at the next Anti-Heroes meeting about a week after Claudine's suggestion at Curl Up & Dye. She was sitting at the table with Claudine and Eddie. Diego was sitting on the bed with Harry and Jace. The sons of Cruella's henchmen had started following Diego a bit more with Carlos gone.

It wasn't long before everyone was present. It'd taken several regular meetings, but all the members had finally seemed to understand what it meant to be on time. Yen Sid didn't have any special treats this time around, and Gabby hadn't gotten around to making anything. So Yen Sid was just passing around some glasses of water, and a few people were splitting cans of flat soda.

Yen Sid started the meeting with a short lesson on manners, and then he asked if anyone had anything they'd like to ask or propose for a topic of discussion.

Gabby and Claudine exchanged a glance, and Gabby noticed that Yzla and Hermie glanced their way, as well. Claudine cleared her throat and raised her hand.

Claudine gave a brief explanation of what went down between them and Harry Hook at Curl Up & Dye, and what idea that lead to. When she finished, Gabby noticed mixed reactions. Some people were nodding in agreement, a couple ecstatically, while a few looked hesitant.

Yen Sid looked pleased by Claudine's idea. "What kinds of ideas did you all have in mind?"

"Well, my original idea was to just…stand up for people who can't stand up for themselves." Claudine explained. "Like how we all stood up to Harry Hook when he messed with Dizzy."

"And then we all started brainstorming ideas." Yzla added. "Just small ways to help people. Like making food for less fortunate people." she pointed out, gesturing to Gabby. "I was thinking of maybe…well, I've recently thought about…maybe wanting to be a doctor or something." Yzla admitted awkwardly. "I could use my potions and things to help people; heal injuries or things like that."

Several people were nodding in understanding, Gabby herself was remembering how Yzla had been so willing to help her after Gil's initiation.

"I was thinking…It would be cool to start a garden." Hermie spoke up quietly, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I've done some research on stuff like that, and I've been saving up seeds from different fruits and vegetables. It would be nice to grow fresh food here on the Isle for people so we don't only have rotten food. I just don't know where to plant a garden. My yard is really tiny."

"I've seen where you live." Eddie spoke up from where he sat next to Gabby. "Your roof is flat. Do you have a way to get up there?" When Hermie nodded hesitantly, Eddie continued, "Grow a garden on the roof. I've seen that on TV and in books. I could help, if you want."

"Yes, that's a wonderful idea." Yen Sid agreed with a wide smile on his wrinkled face. "Rooftop gardens are extremely useful. I would love to help out. I actually have a stash of vegetable seeds I could donate to the cause."

Diego nudged Jace with his elbow. "You know, we could take some of Auntie Cruella's precious fur coats. Donate them to people who don't even have a house. They could use them to keep warm or as tents or something. What?" he asked when he saw Yen Sid giving him a look. "We'd be like Robin Hood. You know, steal from the rich and give to the poor."

Everyone laughed and even Yen Sid conceded with a chuckle.

"Yeah, okay, some of those ideas sound good." Big Murph agreed slowly. "But I think we all should be hesitant to go up against gangs like Uma's. Remember, some of us aren't quite as…open about wanting to be good. It could cause some of us serious problems."

A few people, namely Harry, Hadie, and Eddie, nodded nervously in agreement.

"Yes, of course." Yen Sid agreed. "No one is going to be forced to do something they're not comfortable with. In fact, I would suggest everyone exercise caution. Don't go looking for trouble. If you stand up for someone, that's wonderful, but don't just cause problems for yourself and others."

Everyone nodded in agreement, even Claudine could see sense in the suggestion. Choosing to do good would very quickly paint targets on all their backs, so they needed to choose their battles wisely.

 **AN: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! Also, in answer to danifan3000's question in the last chapter, if Gabby did except Uma's offer, Uma probably would have had Gil fight one of his brothers since they're in another gang, as the point was to prove his loyalty was to the gang over family.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Ch 16 (Still 2015; 1 month to D2)**

Gabby paused in her work, resting her hands on her hips as she took deep breaths. It was surprisingly sunny, which was making for hot work, and she wasn't the only one to have taken off her leather jacket.

She was helping Hermie and Eddie plant a garden on the flat rooftop of Hermie's dad's house, who of course had no clue as to what was happening. Jace, Hadie, and Big Murph had been helping off and on throughout the day. They'd lugged up buckets of soil and spread it out over blocked off sections of the roof. After preparing the soil, they'd started planting the bunches of seeds that they'd all stockpiled in the couple weeks since that fateful Anti-Heroes meeting. Food like potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, and peppers had all been planted in an afternoon.

"Is that everything?" Gabby asked as Hermie paused next to her, leaning on a pitchfork.

"That's all the seeds planted." Hermie nodded, breathing even heavier than Gabby. Sweat was dripping down her face and there was dirt smudged across her forehead where she'd probably wiped at the sweat. Gabby was sure she looked similar. "Now we just need to water them."

"Alright. Eddie and I can get some water in these buckets." Big Murph volunteered from where he was sitting to take a breather. He patted Eddie's shoulder where the scrawny guy was laying facedown next to him. "Come on, Ed, let's go." Eddie merely groaned in response.

"Well, Yen Sid told me the best way to water a garden is to sort of…sprinkle it. I think so you don't drench one area more than another." Hermie explained uncertainly.

Gabby thought for a moment before she perked up. "Hey, anyone have a plastic bottle?"

Big Murph and Eddie exchanged a confused glance.

It took about half an hour. Big Murph managed to set up a hose system, trailing a hose from a nearby shed that no one bothered with. Eddie found an old plastic soda bottle in a back alley. Gabby poked a bunch of holes in the bottle and attached it to the end of the hose. She then placed it in the middle of the garden while Big Murph ran back to turn the hose on. It took a few moments for the water to travel, but soon it was spraying from all the tiny holes in the bottle, creating a sprinkler system for the garden.

Hermie and Eddie cheered and Gabby laughed, standing just close enough to the edge of the garden that she got lightly sprayed with the cool water.

"It actually worked." Gabby laughed, slightly surprised.

"Of course it worked! You're a genius!" Hermie laughed, giving Gabby a tight, yet slightly sweaty, hug.

"If the garden was much bigger we'd need a second one." Eddie noted, watching how the tiny streams of water stretched to all four corners of the small garden.

"Whoa." Big Murph had just returned, climbing up the rickety ladder to the rooftop. "It actually worked pretty good."

"Of course it did!" Hermie scolded lightly.

"No, I knew it'd work, just not that well." Big Murph quickly corrected, glancing sheepishly at Gabby.

She laughed. "You and me, both."

*~0~*

Gabby handed the vendor a couple gold coins, taking the three apples and putting them in her bag. She continued on down the row of marketplace booths, her eyes open for anything else she might want to collect.

A commotion up ahead drew Gabby's attention several booths down the market. A woman chased a young boy from her booth, swinging a broom at him. The kid tripped and curled up on the ground as the woman whacked him repeatedly with her broom. When she backed off and returned to her booth, Gabby approached the boy still on the ground. It was reminiscent of the day Gabby met Carlos.

She held her hand down to the boy, who peaked anxiously up at her. Gabby gave him a small smile, which seemed to encourage him. He hesitantly took her hand and she pulled him to his feet. The boy looked no older than 8 years old with a dirty face and shaggy brown hair, and he was wearing a tattered jacket and worn shorts.

"Hi, I'm Gabby. Are you okay?" she asked him gently.

The boy glanced around nervously, as if he didn't understand what was happening. And he probably didn't, to be honest. No one helped people on the Isle. "Y-yes." he stuttered quietly.

"What were you doing?" Gabby asked quietly with a glance at the booth he'd been chased out of. It was one of many booths selling old, rotten food.

The boy also glanced at the booth. "My mom wanted me to get food." he explained quietly.

Gabby nodded in understanding. "Where's your mom?"

"She's at home." the boy explained just as quietly, still looking uncomfortable.

Gabby bit her lip thoughtfully for a moment. "Could you take me there? I have some food I could give your mom."

The boy instantly backed away, looking scared. "You'll hurt her." he squeaked.

"No, I won't. I promise." Gabby assured him, crouching on the ground so she was eye-level with him. "Look." she told him, pulling her bag around and opening it. She pulled out several sandwiches and apples and other foods. "I have a bunch of food in here. I've been looking for people to give it to. Can I give some to your mom?"

The boy eyed the food with wide, hungry eyes before he finally made eye contact with Gabby. He stared at her for a few moments before nodding.

"Okay. B-but if you hurt my mom, I'll-I'll kick you!" he told her, determined despite his shaking voice.

Gabby smiled softly. "I promise I won't hurt her."

The boy nodded once more before turning and walking down the market. Gabby stood and followed him. They wove through several alleys before entering a back alley that had several homeless people. There were tattered sheets forming tents and shelters against the buildings. The boy lead the way directly to one particular shelter. He ducked under the shabby blankets that formed the tent-like shelter and Gabby paused in the entrance.

Inside the small shelter, the ground was covered in sleeping bags and blankets, and there was a pile of clothing in the back corner. A young woman, at least in her mid-twenties with tanned skin and frizzy, black hair was huddled inside the shelter. She hugged her son when he scurried into their small home. He nestled into her side and whispered something into her ear. The mother looked up at Gabby through the entrance of their shelter.

"Hi. I'm Gabby. I was wondering if you'd like some food? I have some sandwiches and apples." she explained quietly.

The woman eyed her warily. "Why are you helping us?" she asked carefully. Before Gabby could answer, there was a quiet cry from inside the shelter. The woman leaned over a cardboard box filled with blankets that Gabby hadn't seen, and lifted a small baby into her arms. She cradled it to her chest before turning her attention back to Gabby.

"I…I don't want to be a villain." Gabby answered quietly. "I want to be…nice. I made a bunch of food and I've just been looking for people to give it to."

The woman glanced down at her baby, and then at her younger son. She sighed and gave Gabby a small smile. "Well,…if you're offering. I don't have anything to give you."

"I don't want anything. Think of it as…leftovers." Gabby explained, reaching into her bag and passing a few sandwiches and an apple to the woman. She took them and handed most of it to her son, who instantly took a big bite of a sandwich.

"Thank you." was the woman's heartfelt response. Gabby smiled in return.

"It was my pleasure. I hope I'll see you around." Gabby told her as she turned and made her way back up the alley in the general direction of her own home. She also made a mental note to herself to talk to Diego. If he was still considering stealing some of Cruella's furs, she now knew a family that could certainly use a warm fur coat.

*~0~*

Gabby smiled as she passed another sandwich to a young child, who smiled eagerly at her before hurrying off. She watched the little girl run off before looking back the other way. Yzla was crouching by an older man, dabbing one of her potions on his arm. She spoke to him for a minute before handing the vile of potion to the man. He held her hand for a moment, saying something to her that was probably a 'thank you', judging by Yzla's smile.

Another minute, and Yzla joined Gabby so the two could leave the small alley that was crowded with homeless, hungry people. As they left, Gabby noticed a few fur coats being used as roofs or blankets. Diego had gone through with his idea, it seems. If Cruella found out, she'd have a heart attack.

"Did you see Hermie at the garden yesterday?" Yzla suddenly chuckled as they turned a corner.

Gabby laughed. "You mean when she was freaking out about her beans finally sprouting?"

"Yes! Honestly, I think she was starting to lose hope of her garden actually growing something." Yzla admitted with a smile. "I walked in to Weird Science Class last week to hear Yen Sid reassuring Hermie that gardens take time to grow. She looked on the verge of tears."

"Aw. Poor Hermie. At least it all seems to be paying off at last." Gabby noted, remembering several times the last couple weeks where she'd gone to the garden to find Hermie reading to the garden, or singing. The poor girl was so desperate for this garden to work out.

"I don't know why she was freaking out so much." Yzla pondered. "Yen Sid said it could take a few months for most of the food to be ready to be picked."

"I think she was just expecting to at least see them starting to sprout. After a few weeks of not seeing anything, I suppose that could be a little nerve-wracking." Gabby pointed out.

"True."

A commotion around the next corner caused the two to pause and take in the scene before them.

Several young kids were bunched together, surrounding one kid in the middle. Most of the kids were dressed in typical, ratty pirate clothes, and were probably between the ages of 10 and 14. A close look showed that the pirates, young members of Harriet Hook's crew, were pushing around a blue-haired kid trapped in the middle.

Gabby and Yzla exchanged a glance when they recognized the blue-haired boy.

Hadie; the twelve year old son of Hades, and one of the youngest members of the Anti-Heroes Club.

He was already scuffed up, his face smudged with dirt, his hair sticking out, and his clothes ruffled and dirty. He looked like he was trying to keep all the other kids in his sight at once, which was impossible with them in a circle around him. Gabby knew how that felt all too well.

"Hey!" Yzla shouted. All the kids turned to stare at them, and the distraction was enough for Hadie to slip through a gap in the crowd. He hurried over to the two girls and latched onto Gabby's arm, clinging to her and eyeing the other kids nervously. Gabby could feel him trembling against her.

"Get lost, water rats." Yzla ordered, glaring around at the younger kids.

"Who's going to make us?" one of the older boys taunted, stepping to the front of the group. He had red hair and was wearing a tattered brown jacket. Even though he was probably the oldest of the group, he was still obviously younger than Gabby and Yzla, no older than fourteen. "There's five of us, and only three of you, one of which is obviously not much of a problem." he pointed out, sneering down at Hadie.

"And I can take three of you myself without breaking a sweat." Gabby snapped, stepping forward and glaring at the boy.

One of the younger girls stepped up and lightly backhanded the older boy's arm. "Dude, that's the girl who's caused problems for Harry Hook. She beat him with a _broom_." she hissed.

Gabby instinctively squared her shoulders when all the kids looked at her again, all with expressions of awe or disbelief.

"Why are you two sticking up for _him_?" another boy sneered, glaring at Hadie.

"Someone has to." Yzla retorted. "You must all feel so big and tough, with five of you ganging up on one kid." she added sarcastically. "You probably wouldn't be so brave in a fair fight."

"You sure about that?" the older boy asked, taking another threatening step forward.

"Will!" a familiar voice snapped. Everyone turned to see Big Murph approaching them from the other end of the alley. He was glaring down at the younger members through the one eye that wasn't covered by an eye patch. Being one of the biggest members of Harriet Hook's crew, he might as well have been second in command, if unofficially.

The younger kids scooted out of his way as he marched through their midst and stopped right in front of the oldest boy, whose name was clearly Will. They were about the same height, but where Will was scrawny Big Murph was stout and burly. His width made up for his shorter stature.

"What do you think you're doing?" Big Murph demanded angrily.

"We were just-"

"Harriet sent you all out to collect loot. Five of you trying to steal from one scrawny kid is a waste of your time, _and_ a waste of Harriet's patience. Want me to tell her about it?" Most of the kids frantically shook their heads at Big Murph's question. "That's what I thought. Now get outta here and collect something valuable before the day's over."

The kids were running off before he'd finished speaking. Big Murph turned and glanced over his shoulder at Gabby, Yzla, and Hadie. After a moment he smirked slightly, lifted his eye patch, and winked at them before walking away after his crew.

Gabby and Yzla exchanged a surprised glance before grinning. Big Murph had been one of the most hesitant of the Anti-Heroes to openly stand up to other gangs because his life on the Isle relied on Harriet believing he was still on her side. And just now he'd subtly stood up for the Anti-Heroes against his own crew without painting a target on his back.

"I knew he had it in him." Yzla whispered with a grin.

"Of course he did." Gabby agreed, exchanging a grin with Hadie, who stepped away from her now that the danger had passed.

"Thanks for standing up for me." Hadie told them sheepishly.

"Don't mention it." Gabby assure him, playfully ruffling his blue hair and making him laugh. A glance past him brought Gabby's attention to a crate of spray paint cans. Grinning slightly as an idea popped into her head, Gabby moved around Hadie and approached the crate. She shifted through the available cans until she found a couple colors that suited her idea. She then stood up and moved down to a blank spot on the brick wall.

"What are you going to paint?" Hadie asked curiously as he and Yzla approached her. Tagging walls was fairly common on the Isle, but it wasn't normally Gabby's style.

"Just an idea." Gabby answered vaguely. The other two watched silently as Gabby carefully spray painted the blank brick wall. It took several minutes before her rough graffiti art was deemed finished. Only then did she step back and admire her work with the others.

"I like it." Yzla stated firmly. "That our new logo?"

Gabby grinned and shrugged. "I don't know. Just popped into my head. It's not that good, but I'm not a great artist."

"It's awesome!" Hadie insisted eagerly. "It totally should be our logo."

On the wall was a rough painting in blue and yellow. The base was a blue shield with the letters _AH_ in yellow, semi-elegant script. Atop the blue shield was a yellow hat that resembled Robin Hood's signature hat, with a blue feather sticking out of it.

"You should stitch that into some of our jackets." Yzla decided. "I mean, a simple AH is great, but _this_ is cool. And it doesn't have to be blue and yellow all the time. I mean, mine could be blue and black."

"Mine could, too." Hadie agreed.

"Claudine's could be periwinkle and black." Yzla added.

"Peri-what?" Hadie asked in confusion.

Yzla rolled her eyes. "Bluish-purple. Like the color Claudine usually wears."

"Oh."

"And yours could be red and black." Yzla went on, looking at Gabby again. "And Diego's could be the same. And-"

"Okay, okay!" Gabby laughed. "I get it. And not everyone may want this."

"Most of them will." Yzla insisted. "We'll bring it up at the next meeting."

Gabby rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Whatever you say."

 **AN: Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone liked chapter 16, even though not very much happened. Let me know what you all thought in the reviews. Also, guess what the next chapter is? I'll give you a hint: look what it says at the start of this chapter, in the parenthesis behind chapter 16. I can't wait!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Ch 17 (Still 2015; D2)**

Gabby sighed, snuggling down into the warm, fuzzy beanbag in her small corner of the hideout. She'd had another fairly productive, yet slightly boring day spent completely at home. She'd spent the day working on jackets.

True to her word, Yzla had mentioned the logo idea at the Anti-Heroes meeting a few days ago, and several members had loved the idea. Gabby had already finished her own. She'd chosen one of her older jackets. It was mostly red with black shoulders and sleeves. The zipper was slanted, starting in the middle at the bottom and going up to her left shoulder. This left her chest blank, which offered the perfect spot for a red and black Anti-Heroes logo.

She had also just finished Yzla's, Hadie's, and Claudine's. Now she had to work on Harry's, Jace's, Diego's, and, surprisingly, Big Murph asked for one.

Gabby was just closing her eyes, fully ready to fall into a doze, when she heard a steady set of clumps. She opened her eyes and held her breath, listening intently to what she quickly recognized as footsteps entering the hideout.

Gingersnap landed silently on her favorite perch nearby, whispering quietly, "Intruder."

Leaning forward quickly and silently, Gabby stood up and grabbed her naginata. Silent on her bare feet, Gabby stepped up the couple wooden steps and into Mal's room, putting her back flush to the wall. She listened carefully, her mind mapping out the hideout's layout and following the intruder's footsteps. She moved silently into the corner of Mal's room just as she heard the intruder pass by the other doorway of Mal's room.

She waited for the person to move further into the hideout, ignoring her pounding heart, before she glanced through the other doorway. She caught a glimpse of someone's back moving toward the red leather couch in the gang's shared space.

Moving her hands in a better grip on her naginata, Gabby stepped silently out of the room. Standing across the room, surveying the walls, was a girl. Gabby could tell by the hair and her build. Her hair was long and bleach blonde with light purple tips. It certainly didn't match the dark purple and green leather outfit she was wearing.

Gabby's eyes had just caught sight of the familiar logo of green and purple dragons forming a heart shape on the back of the jacket when the girl turned around. The girl finally saw Gabby just as Gabby finally recognized her.

Despite the blonde hair, Gabby would know that face and poison-green eyes anywhere. Pure shock was the only thing that kept Gabby silent, though her blue eyes widened slightly in surprise. Gingersnap landed silently on Gabby's shoulder, and she guessed her parrot was trying to figure out why this girl looked familiar.

Mal's eyes also widened, but that was the only giveaway to her surprise. She always did have a good poker face.

"Gabby?" Mal asked incredulously. Gabby was sure she looked very different from how she looked the last time Mal saw her. Her black hair was several inches shorter and faded to dark red at the ends. Her clothes were similar, but looked a bit edgier. And of course, she was holding her naginata at the ready, the blade pointed at Mal.

"Long time no see, Mal." Gabby greeted quietly after a moment, straightening up and holding her naginata at her side. "You're a long way from home, aren't ya?" she asked carefully.

Mal tensed. "No, I _am_ home." she declared firmly.

Gabby narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "But…you guys all seemed so…happy in Auradon. Why would you give that up and come here?"

"You don't know what it's like, okay?" Mal snapped defensively. "I don't belong over there. I'm not a perfect princess. I'm a villain, through and through. This is where I belong."

Gabby blinked, completely baffled. "But you were over there for…what, six months? Why are you suddenly deciding _now_ that you don't belong there? The news said you were set to be made a Lady of the Court in just a few days. Do you have any idea how big that is?"

"Do _you_ have any idea how much pressure it is?" Mal snapped. "Being the King's girlfriend? Having to be perfect all the time? Never being able to make mistakes? To be attacked by paparazzi every time I step outside? All while trying to be a perfect girlfriend _and_ go to school?"

Gabby was silent for several moments as she surveyed Mal and how worked up the subject had made her. Personally, Gabby would've given everything to be able to go to Auradon, and part of her thought Mal running away was immature. But she supposed Mal had basically been forced into a complete 180 in a very short time. "No," she finally admitted, "I guess I don't. So, does that mean you're here to stay?"

Mal nodded once firmly. "Yep. Back where I belong. I'll probably live here; don't really want to go back to Bargain Castle with my mom being a lizard. What happened to our turf? All the other gangs fight over it?"

Gabby nodded. "Yeah. Uma's crew has pretty much laid claim to most of it. I've done my best to keep Hook out of Dizzy's hair, but there's only so much I can do."

Mal nodded. "That reminds me, I need to take care of _this_." she announced, lifting up a chunk of her blonde hair with a fist and wrinkling her nose at it. "Think Dizzy'd be willing to dye it for me?"

Gabby nodded instantly. "She'd love to. She did mine a couple months ago." Gabby pointed out, lightly tugging at a strand of her hair.

Mal's eyes scanned Gabby's hair with a nod. "She did good. I might as well head over there now." she decided, dumping what looked like a bike helmet on the ground and marching back toward the entrance to the hideout. "You coming?" Mal asked, glancing at Gabby as she passed.

Gabby paused in surprise before grabbing her bag, slipping her naginata into it's place on her back, and hurrying after Mal. When they stepped out into the alley under the hideout, they made the proper twists and turns through the alleys in the general direction of Curl Up & Dye. Instead of scurrying along in Mal's shadow like Gabby used to, she made sure to walk at Mal's side. Like an equal. And she knew Mal noticed, though she didn't comment.

Mal had probably been Gabby's least favorite of the four teenagers, but they got along fairly well by the end of her time on the Isle. Gabby was still uncomfortable around her, and her sudden return to the Isle had also thrown Gabby for a loop, leaving her even more unbalanced. But she could easily find a silver lining in the whole thing. Mal was easily the most feared person on the Isle. With her back, maybe life on the Isle would get a little easier for Gabby. If nothing else, she wouldn't be alone in the hideout as often.

Mal glanced at Gabby from the corner of her eye as they turned another corner. She could easily see the change in the formerly-shaky girl. She walked with her head held high, showing a confidence Mal had never seen in her before.

"The others are happy in Auradon." Mal announced casually.

Gabby tried not to tense. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear about this. "I figured. I already know Jay was made Captain of the R.O.A.R team." Gabby replied.

Mal nodded. "He loves it. And he's good. You can only become Captain by beating out the current Captain. And Evie's started her own business. She's been working overtime designing and making everyone's Cotillion dresses. And Carlos has a dog named Dude, and he's been trying to work up the nerve to ask out a girl he likes."

Gabby swallowed a lump in her throat. While she appreciated what Mal was trying to do, she didn't particularly want to hear how happy Jay, Evie, and Carlos were in Auradon while she'd been abandoned on the Isle.

They continued on in silence, and Curl Up & Dye came into view at the end of the alley. As they approached it, they passed Hades' Souvlaki stand. Gabby glanced toward it to see if Hadie was working. Sure enough, there he was, looking bored and leaning forward on the table as he waited for customers. He looked up and his amber eyes just met Gabby's when she remembered something.

Gabby quickly grabbed Mal's arm to get her attention. "Give me a sec. I need to do something." she told her quickly. She didn't wait for Mal's response; she figured Mal would just go to Dizzy's without her, but she hurried over to Hades' Souvlaki. Hadie stood up straight when he saw her approaching, giving her a small smile in greeting.

"Hey." he spoke first, glancing curiously over her shoulder. "Mal's back?" he whispered.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Gabby admitted with a shrug as she pulled her bag around. She open it and searched around before pulling out a leather jacket. It had been a plain, dark gray jacket when Hadie gave it to her. Now, it had a small Anti-Heroes logo in black and blue on the left of the chest, and Gabby had added blue flames up the sleeves, which she hoped he liked. "Here."

Hadie's eyes widened and he grinned eagerly as he took the jacket from her, holding it up to see. "It's awesome!" he exclaimed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." he added more quietly, though still excitedly. Thanking people was still frowned upon on the Isle.

"No problem." Gabby grinned at his reaction. "I've gotta go, but I'll see you later."

"Yeah. See ya." Hadie agreed, already pulling his new jacket on and zipping it up. It looked good on him.

Gabby turned and headed back toward Curl Up & Dye. She was mildly surprised to see Mal waiting for her. She would've figured Mal would've gotten too bored waiting, but she was watching Gabby curiously.

"What was that all about?" she asked when Gabby reached her side.

"Nothing much." Gabby answered vaguely as she pushed at the door.

"I forgot this place didn't open until midnight." Mal noted as they entered the building. "You sure Dizzy can do it now?"

"Dizzy's always willing to do someone's hair. The worst she'll do is say 'come back later'." Gabby answered.

Mal pushed through the paint-splattered plastic flaps first and paused as she looked around. Gabby peaked through next to her, taking in the usual colored chaos that was the salon. Paint or dye splattered the whole room, wigs hung everywhere, beakers littered tables. And then there was Dizzy. She hadn't heard them enter yet, as she had headphones on, and she was dancing slightly as she swept up strands of neon orange hair.

Gabby smiled and glanced at Mal, who seemed to have a fond smile on her face as she watched Dizzy. Gabby figured in that moment, that Mal had also had a soft spot for Dizzy; she just didn't show it as obviously as Gabby and Evie had.

When Dizzy finally saw them, her face lit up and she pulled her headphones off her head. "Mal! Is Evie back, too?" she asked excitedly.

Mal gave a dry laugh as she slipped into the room. "As if."

Gabby noticed Dizzy deflate slightly. She glanced at Mal, wondering if her and Evie had a falling out before she left, or if she was just missing her best friend.

"I, um, forgot you guys don't open until midnight." Mal went on, making Dizzy nod. "Place looks good." she added, making Dizzy light up again.

There was a moment of, what Gabby considered, awkward silence before Mal wandered further into the room. "So, what is your deal? Has your grandmother given you any customers yet? I know you did a great job on Gab's hair."

"Yeah, Gabby and the other girls are pretty much the only customers I get. Or my grandmother will give me the occasional witch to do. Mostly it's a lot of scrubbing, scouring, and sweeping. Lots and lots of sweeping."

"Sounds like your old Cinderella treatment, huh." Mal commented.

"Yeah. She's gone from wicked stepmother, to wicked grandmother." Dizzy admitted with a nervous glance at the ceiling. Gabby and Mal glanced upward, too. Gabby could vividly remembered the screechy voice of Lady Tremaine ordering Dizzy to be quiet.

"That's not really much of a switch." Mal joked. "So, what other girls were you talking about? When you mentioned doing their hair?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, Gabby and the girls come hang out here all the time, and I sometimes do their hair or nails." Dizzy explained excitedly, making Gabby grin at how happy those visits made the young girl. "It's mostly Claudine, Yzla, and Hermie. And Gabby sometimes brings food and we all just hang out. I have to work at the same time, but it's much more fun with company."

Mal glanced curiously at Gabby. "That does sound like fun." she turned back to Dizzy. "And you used to do Evie, right?"

"Yeah." Dizzy beamed proudly. "I thought of the little braids."

"You have any ideas for me?"

Dizzy squinted thoughtfully at Mal's face, holding up her hand in an 'L' shape. She then stepped forward and plucked up the end of Mal's hair.

"The washed-out blonde with purple tips? The best of _no_ worlds." Dizzy declared, making Mal laugh while Gabby snorted back her own laugh. "You can't see where your face ends and your hair begins!" Dizzy then yanked Mal over to one of the salon chairs and made her sit while looking at her nails. "Oh, what is this? Bored-to-death pink?"

Spinning the chair around, Dizzy looked thoughtfully down at Mal. "Hmm. How far can I go?" she asked, resting her elbow on the back of the chair.

"The works?" Mal suggested. "I mean, whatever makes me feel like me, but, you know,…way worse."

"Yay!" Dizzy cheered before hurrying off to gather supplies.

Gabby laughed quietly. "You just made her day."

"Yeah. So, you're hanging out with Claudine, Yzla, and Hermie?" Mal asked with a glance at the logo on Gabby's chest. "That mean you're a member of the Anti-Heroes?"

Gabby nodded once. "Yep."

"Where were you…five months back? We worked with the Anti-Heroes to stop Jafar, Cruella, and Evil Queen. No one knew who you were or where you were."

"That was right before I joined up. Big Murph tracked me down and invited me to a meeting. And the rest is history." Gabby explained shortly.

Mal eyed her for a moment just as Dizzy entered the room with scissors and hair dye. "Jay looked for you. You weren't at Jafar's shop. I'm assuming you were at the hideout?"

"Probably. I spent most of my time hiding up there back then. It's dangerous to be alone on the Isle." Gabby explained quietly.

Mal hummed thoughtfully as Dizzy pulled out the scissors. It took a few hours for Dizzy to do Mal's hair. First, she cut about six inches off. Then she put purple hair dye in it, letting it sit for about half an hour. While it set, Dizzy painted her nails a dark purple.

When everything was said and done, Mal's hair was long, straight with bangs and light purple. All in all, she looked like Mal again.

Standing from the salon chair, Mal ducked to look into the broken mirror on the wall. "Hey, there I am." Mal grinned.

"Mal!" Gingersnap screeched from Gabby's shoulder.

"Gingersnap finally recognizes you." Gabby laughed.

"Voila!" Dizzy exclaimed, throwing her arm in the air excitedly.

"Voila." Mal agreed before pulling a dollar out of her pocket and offering it to Dizzy.

"For me?" Dizzy asked in shock.

"Yeah, you earned it." Mal answered.

Gabby had to blink for a moment. Despite Mal claiming she didn't belong in Auradon, she'd clearly picked up some good behavior while over there. She was still cool and rough around the edges, but she wasn't evil.

Dizzy giggled and skipped excitedly toward the till, only for an unwanted guest to enter the salon.

"Fork it over, ya runt." Harry Hook ordered, holding out his hand.

Gabby instantly stood up, her hand going to her naginata over her shoulder as a reflex.

Dizzy sadly handed the money to him. But it wasn't enough for Harry. He tapped his fake hook on the metal desk the till sat on. "And the rest of it."

Dizzy glumly opened the till and took out a few coins, all that was in there, and handed it to Harry. Gabby glanced at Mal, hoping she'd do something. If not, Gabby was tempted to speak up herself.

"Thank you." Harry said sarcastically, turning to leave.

"Still running errands for Uma, or do you actually get to keep what you steal?" Mal asked, causing Harry to slowly turn around at the familiar voice. Gabby pulled her naginata out and held it at her side, leaning against it casually.

"Well, well, well." Harry turned to look at Mal. "What a _nice_ surprise."

"Hey, Harry." Mal greeted him casually.

"Just _wait_ until Uma hears you're back." Harry commented, walking up to Mal. He looked her over. "She's never going to give you back your old territory."

"Oh, well, that's okay. Because I will be _taking_ it." Mal responded.

Harry chuckled, then leaned forward to run his hook through Mal's newly-dyed hair. "I could hurt you." he noted.

Mal's hand shot out and grabbed Harry's wrist. She then used her free hand to take her gum out of her mouth, which she stuck on the end of Harry's hook. Gabby snorted at the look on his face. It was a clear sign of disrespect on Mal's part, soiling Harry's precious hook.

"Not without her permission, I bet." Mal noted with a mock pout, finally releasing Harry's wrist.

Harry fake-laughed. He ate the gum off the end of his hook, making Gabby grimace in disgust, as he turned to leave. Before he left, however, he swept everything off Dizzy's desk and gave a little bow to Mal before he walked out.

"Great. More sweeping." Dizzy complained.

Gabby sighed, putting her weapon back on her back. "I'll help you clean up, Dizzy."

It didn't take long after Mal helped pick everything up. They said goodbye to Dizzy and headed back toward the hideout. Mal picked up some spray paint cans along the way, and got to work painting the walls of the hideout when they returned. Gabby curled up on Jay's couch to work on Jace's jacket.

They were silent as they did their own things for the rest of the day. Gabby continued working on jackets while Mal painted a large mural of Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos with the words 'Rotten to the Core' along the bottom.

Gabby was focusing intently on a difficult section of her second jacket when Gingersnap suddenly landed on her shoulder, causing her to jump and nearly stab herself with the needle. Before she could scold the parrot, Gingersnap put her beak near Gabby's ear.

"Intruder." she hissed. "Intruder."

Gabby tensed, her eyes darting across the room to where Mal was standing on a suitcase to paint higher on the wall. Her thoughts swirled, wondering who else could be popping up in their secret hideout. The only people besides herself and Mal who knew where it was would be…

Gabby stood up, dropping her things on the couch. She grabbed her naginata and ducked into Mal's room like she'd done earlier when Mal returned. She kept her back against the doorway and peaked out at where Mal was painting. She felt a sense of deja vu as her ears picked up the sound of footsteps moving through the hideout.

She watched, holding her breath as an unfamiliar guy wearing all blue stepped into her view. He paused when he saw Mal painting. Gabby slowly stepped into the open, holding her naginata with the blade pointed at this stranger, who was still watching Mal.

Then, he spoke up, "At least I don't see a picture of me with horns and a pitchfork." he called, making Mal spin around in shock.

"Ben."

Gabby froze, unsure of what to do. Ben? As in King Ben? Mal's boyfriend, who she left for whatever reason to return to this dump? But he was clearly no threat. Mal was nervous about him, but she could handle her own.

Deciding to just let them work it out alone, Gabby slipped backwards into Mal's room. She was debating leaving the hideout to give them privacy when a thought occurred to her. Only a handful of people knew how to find the hideout. There's no way King Ben, who has never set foot on the Isle, would be able to find it by himself. And he sure as hell wouldn't survive the Isle alone. Which means he had help.

Help from someone who knew the Isle.

Help from someone who knew how to find and enter the hideout.

And there were only three people in the world who fit those requirements.

 **AN: Finally! We're at Descendants 2, and Gabby is finally going to come face-to-face with Jay! Review and let me know what you all thought of this chapter please!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ch 18 (Still 2015)**

Gabby stood frozen for a second before she took a few deep breaths, wanting to remain calm before she did anything. If they did bring Ben to the Isle and send him up into the hideout, they wouldn't stray too far. So chances are, they would be waiting for him nearby.

Slipping silently out of Mal's room, she headed toward the entrance to the hideout and stepped out onto the balcony. She looked over the railing and down toward the ground far below and saw someone in a dark beanie and red, blue, and gold leather jacket.

Gabby took a deep breath, but that didn't stop her hands from shaking. Then, she shook her head harshly. She needed to get ahold of herself. Even if it is Jay down there, she had no reason to be nervous or anxious about seeing him or the others again. She wasn't the same girl she was when they left. She could take care of herself now.

With that in mind, Gabby turned and began making a slow, quiet walk down the many flights of stairs. She hesitated as she neared the bottom before she squared her shoulders and rounded the last corner.

Evie, Jay, and Carlos, who were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, turned toward her expectantly. They'd probably expected it to be Ben, so their worried expressions quickly changed to shock when they registered who it was.

"Jay!" Gingersnap screeched, flying off Gabby's shoulder.

"Gabby!" Evie beamed, hurrying forward and hugging Gabby as her feet touched the ground. A tiny bit of the tenseness left Gabby's shoulders as she returned the hug, laughing slightly. "Oh my god, look at you!" Evie continued, pulling away and looking Gabby over. "I love your hair! You look amazing! Oh, I've missed you so much!" Evie just continued rambling, giving Gabby another tight hug.

"Jeez, Evie, let her breathe." Carlos laughed. He nudged Evie out of the way and gave Gabby a hug that was almost as tight.

"You grew." were the first words Gabby finally managed to voice as she pulled out of Carlos's hug. He'd grown at least a couple inches since she last saw him. And his hair was straight and combed to one side, making him look more grownup.

Carlos laughed. "Yeah, a bit. You look awesome."

"Thanks." Gabby grinned slightly, still a bit uncomfortable in the presence of the people who'd left her. Finally, she looked past Carlos toward Jay, who was silently staring at her. Gingersnap was perched on his shoulder and he was distractedly scratching her head. His eyes were slightly wide, but other than that Gabby couldn't read his expression.

Taking a deep breath, Gabby squared her shoulders and met Jay's eyes. "Hey, Jay." she greeted him quietly.

Jay cleared his throat. "Hey, Gabby. You look…different."

"I _am_ different." Gabby answered simply. "A lot can happen in six months."

Jay swallowed and opened his mouth, but no words came out. After several moments the air grew thick with awkward tension. Gabby wasn't sure how she felt at the moment. She'd missed them all a lot, but she also felt betrayed. Jay knew how badly she'd wanted to go to Auradon. He could've done something to get her off the Isle. And he didn't. And that hurt. And seeing him now, face-to-face, made it even more painful.

"I, uh, I tried to find you a few months back." Jay started awkwardly. "We were here to stop our parents. I went to the Junk Shop, but you weren't there."

"Yeah, I was probably here." Gabby answered quickly, jerking her thumb up at the building she'd just come out of. "I bought my freedom and left Jafar not long after you guys defeated Maleficent. Haven't been back there in a while."

Before Jay could respond, footsteps clumped down the metal steps behind Gabby. She moved aside, closer to the wall, as Ben appeared on the stairs.

"So?" Evie asked him. "Where's Mal?" Evie went on when she saw he was alone. Gabby watched silently. Judging by his forlorn, lost expression, Mal had sent him on his way, maybe even broke up with him if she hadn't already.

"She's not coming back." Ben answered quietly, walking right past them and around the corner. The door slid shut behind him.

"What?" Evie demanded. "I'll talk to her." she decided, moving up to the megaphone Gabby and Carlos had rigged a few months before he left. Gabby and Jay exchanged a glance. "M? Mal, it's Evie." Evie called into the megaphone. "Let me just talk to you for a second. Mal, come on."

 _"Go away!"_ Mal's voice echoed through the megaphone. There was also a familiar click that told Gabby Mal had pulled the lever upstairs that locked the door.

Jay put his hand on Evie's shoulder. "Let's give her a couple hours to cool off." he suggested.

"Guys!" Carlos called. They all looked at where he was standing in the alley. "Where's Ben?"

Gabby followed Jay and Evie farther into the alley and they all looked down the dark, foggy alley.

"You guys didn't tell him not to wander off?" Gabby asked incredulously, worry starting to worm it's way into her stomach. If any of the villains on this island found out the King was wandering around alone…

"Ben?" Evie asked quietly. A figure emerged from the smoke, walking towards them. "Ben!" Evie called when she saw him. Evie, Jay, and Carlos all breathed sighs of relief, but Gabby tensed. That figure sure didn't look like Ben. "Ben, don't scare us like that!"

"Don't scare you?" a familiar accent teased as Harry Hook emerged from the smoke. Everyone tensed and Gabby instinctively pulled her naginata from her jacket, holding it with both hands. "But that's my specialty."

Gingersnap hissed and hopped from Jay's shoulder back to Gabby's.

"Harry." Evie hissed, knowing this wasn't a good sign.

"What did you do with Ben?" Jay demanded.

"Oh, um," Harry glanced over his shoulder before answering, "we nicked him. Mhm. Yeah." Gabby and Carlos exchanged a horrified glance. "And if you want to see him again," Harry added, pointing up at the hideout above, "have Mal come to the chip shop tonight. Alone." he added, pointing around at all of them. "Uma wants…a little visit."

Gabby swallowed nervously, shoving her fear down as Harry's eyes fell on Jay.

"Aw, Jay." Harry pouted mockingly as he looked him over. "Seems like you've lost your touch. Your little _henchman_ could probably fight better than you now."

Jay lunged for him, but Evie grabbed his shoulder to stop him. Harry, of course, laughed, throwing Gabby a wink. Gabby lifted her naginata, pointing the blade at him. He then barked at Carlos, who didn't even flinch, before turning and sauntering off up the alley.

Jay glanced at the other three before he moved to climb up the building. Gabby remembered in that moment Mal had locked them out. The only way in was to climb the gate surrounding the wall until they got to the top railing.

Gabby followed Jay up the building. It was a tricky climb, but not too bad. When her hand latched onto the railing at the top, a black-gloved hand appeared in front of her face. She paused, her eyes following the arm until she found herself staring up at Jay. He was watching her casually, one hand holding the railing while he held the other out to help her up.

She ignored him. She pulled herself up a bit more before swinging herself over the railing. She could feel the burn of Jay's eyes on her, but she ignored him and entered the hideout, leaving the others to follow at their own pace. She pushed the door open and entered, walking further into the building.

Mal marched around the corner and glared at her. "How'd you get up here?"

"Same way they did." she answered, jerking her thumb over her shoulder just as Evie followed her in.

"Go away!" Mal shouted when she saw Evie. "I told you guys to leave. I'm not going back."

"Okay, okay," Carlos tried to calm her as he and Jay followed the girls inside, "but there's something we need to tell you. We…have a bit of a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Mal asked, her green eyes narrowed. She looked them all over for a second before her angry expression shifted slightly. "Where's Ben?"

Gabby glanced back at the others, all of whom were glancing among themselves as if trying to decide who would be the one to tell her.

 _"Where's Ben?"_ Mal repeated in a slow, tight voice. Her green eyes started glowing and Gabby instinctively took a small step away from her.

"Well,…he was upset after talking to you," Evie started uncertainly, "and he kinda wandered off-"

"Harry Hook kidnapped him." Jay blurted out bluntly.

 _"What?!"_ Mal screeched angrily.

"Hook grabbed Ben, and said if you want to see him again, you need to meet Uma at the chip shop tonight, alone." Carlos explained in detail.

Mal took a deep breath, so angry that she was almost trembling with rage. With a huff, she turned and stalked further into the hideout. With a glance among themselves, Jay, Evie, and Carlos followed her. Gabby hesitated for a moment before slowly trailing after them. She wasn't sure if she belonged in this situation with them, but as far as she was concerned, this was _her_ home now. Not their's.

They all seemed to congregate in Jay's part of the room. Mal was pacing just inside her bedroom, her heeled pumps thumping loudly against the wood floor. While Carlos, Jay, and Evie stood nervously by Jay's couch waiting for Mal to speak, Gabby slipped around behind Jay's couch and grabbed the jacket she'd been working on there earlier. She carried it over to her beanbag and sat there with the jacket on her lap, looking down at it as if she planned on working on it, when in reality she was listening intently for when the conversation would resume.

When Mal finally stopped pacing, she stood in her bedroom doorway with one hand holding the wall as she stared down at her friends.

"If you guys never would have brought him here, this _never_ would have happened." she told them, her voice low with controlled anger. "What were you thinking?!" she finally demanded.

"He was going to come with or without us, we just wanted to protect him." Evie explained desperately.

"Yeah, and we completely blew it, guys." Carlos pointed out, moving past Evie.

"Okay!" Jay called, causing everyone to quiet down. Gabby glanced at him, noting how the others turned to look at him instantly. "Okay. So what are we going to do?" Jay asked, bringing the discussion to what was important instead of blaming each other.

" _We_ are not doing anything." Mal answered before she stepped down the stairs to stand before them. "This is between Uma and me. And she's a punk, and guess what? Now I have to go get him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Mal. You're still going to have to go through Harry Hook and his wharf rats."

"Yeah, you're going to need us." Jay added, sounding concerned.

"Uma said to come alone." Mal answered simply.

"You could be walking right into a trap." Gabby finally spoke up, standing and moving to Mal's other side and gaining their attention. "Not only is the chip shop Uma's domain, her crew has nearly doubled since you guys left. She's got a whole crew of fighters,…including Gil." Gabby added quietly.

"But she's also got Ben. We have to do what she says, for now, or she could throw Ben to the sharks." Mal pointed out. "Knowing Uma, this is just to talk, make her demands. She'll let me walk away so I can get her what she wants."

Gabby nodded slowly, knowing Mal had a point. And she probably knew Uma better than Gabby did. Despite going up against Uma's gang many times, Gabby had really only spoken to Uma once.

"Mal, come on-" Evie tried to argue.

"Mal knows what she's doing." Carlos decided. "I know one thing, I'm not going anywhere." Carlos announced, plopping down on Jay's couch.

"We'll be here when you get back." Jay told Mal, who grabbed her bag and left without another word.

There was a moment of silence before Gabby returned to her beanbag and curled up in it, pulling the jacket into her lap in an attempt to pick up where she left off on it.

She was carefully stitching the pattern with red thread when a chair was placed in front of her.

"What are you working on?" Evie asked in a quiet voice. Gabby glanced up at her to see Evie watching the jacket instead of Gabby's face.

"A jacket." Gabby whispered vaguely.

"It doesn't seem like your style." Evie noted, her fingers touching the black and white fur collar before she added quickly, "Of course, your style could have changed, I suppose. I wouldn't know. It would look good on you."

Gabby chuckled quietly. "Relax, E. It's not for me. It's for Diego."

Carlos glanced over his shoulder from where he was sitting on the ratty brown couch with Jay. "My cousin Diego?" he checked.

"Do you know any other Diegos around here? Yes, that Diego." Gabby answered. Then, she answered the next question she was sure would pop up. "We're in the Anti-Heroes together. I've been making jackets for everyone. Well, not _making_ the jackets. I've been stitching logos onto some of their jackets for them." she explained, pointing at the red and black AH logo on her own chest.

Jay was listening to Gabby talk when his eyes landed on a pile of wrinkled papers on the chest in front of him under a can of blue spray paint. His eyes narrowed, seeing his name at the top of the top sheet of paper. Leaning forward, he moved the can and lifted the pile of papers. His dark eyes skimmed over the first page. The first letter. His brows furrowed, taking in everything Gabby had written. Written to him. While Gabby and Evie talked about the Anti-Heroes Club, Jay skimmed over all the letters.

He stopped when he got to the part about Gil's initiation. She'd briefly mentioned earlier that Gil had joined Uma's gang, but she'd left out her brother having an initiation. Jay took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at Gabby. She was talking with Evie while working on Diego's jacket. She was more at ease then when they'd first shown up, but he could still easily tell that her guard was up. She spoke to him so openly in the letters, yet face-to-face she put up a wall. He'd broken her trust, she'd made that clear without even saying it. She'd mentioned in several letters that she was waiting for him to bring her to Auradon, and he never did.

These letters opened a sort of window into her life in the last six months. She'd been keeping tabs on him and the others, watching his games on TV. She'd slowly given up hope of him coming back for her, but she still wrote letters to him and filled him in on what her life had become. She'd taught herself how to fight. It seemed she could easily hold her own in a one-on-one fight. He found that hard to believe, knowing the girl he'd lived with the last few years. But then he remembered what Harry had said down in the alley, that Jay's henchman could probably fight better than him now. She even mentioned in one letter that she'd beat up Harry with a broom. And it was hard to miss the cool weapon she carried around now; a sort of staff with a blade on the end.

Sighing, Jay stood from his couch and moved around it, leaning back against the back of the couch to look down at Gabby and Evie.

"So, apart from joining the Anti-Heroes, anything interesting going on?" Jay asked casually.

Gabby glanced at him, but otherwise stared down at the jacket she continued to work on. "Not particularly. Just hanging out with them. And Dizzy." she added, focusing on Evie. "I hang out with Dizzy a lot. She did my hair."

"I wondered about that!" Evie beamed. "I love it! It looks amazing!"

"And she's become quite the little designer." Gabby added with a slight grin. "Following in your high-heeled footsteps." she teased, making Evie giggle.

Jay listened for a moment, guessing Gabby was trying to divert the conversation in the direction she wanted and away from topics she wanted to avoid.

"You mentioned Gil's with Uma and Harry." Jay started carefully. "How'd that happen?"

Gabby stayed silent for a moment, smoothing her hands over the black leather jacket on her lap. "It just did. There's not much to tell."

"Nothing?" Jay urged. "Not even…an initiation?"

Gabby's head snapped up and her wide, blue eyes stared up at him. Jay silently held up the letters in his hand. Gabby lunged forward in an attempt the snatch them away, but Jay held them high above his head.

"Jay, give me those!" Gabby demanded, standing up from her beanbag and dropping the jacket in her seat.

"You addressed them to me." Jay pointed out calmly. "I was just reading them. Why were you fine writing these letters to me if you don't want me to know about any of it?"

Gabby opened and closed her mouth, trying to come up with a reasonable response.

"Okay, don't answer that." Jay suggested, seeing that she was struggling. He didn't want to cause her anymore pain. "Just tell us what all happened while we were gone?"

"Why should I?" Gabby snapped, crossing her arms tightly. "You weren't here. As you just said, you were _gone_. You were in Auradon, getting your 'happily ever after's. You four were off, living wonderful lives that you never even _wanted_. Playing sports, starting businesses, going to school, falling in love…" Gabby ranted, gesturing to each of the three teens before her. Evie and Carlos looked down, unable to meet Gabby's eyes. "You, Jay, you were the only person I ever told about wanting to live in Auradon. You knew how I felt; how I wanted, more than anything, to go to Auradon. I waited for _months_ for you to come back for me. To bring me to Auradon. Or even to just contact me. Those letters were what kept me sane. To just get my thoughts and feelings out in the open, to keep track of everything that was happening. But nothing changed. My life just got harder, being here all alone. I eventually had to start standing up for myself, teaching myself to fight. I made weapons. I started fighting back. It was _so_ tempting to just…embrace my resentment. To let it fester into hatred. I could have easily become a villain. A true villain that you always wanted me to be."

Jay stared at Gabby, his dark eyes fixed on hers as he listened to her speak.

"Did you know Uma herself approached me?" Gabby asked rhetorically. "Did you read that in your stupid letters? It was during Gil's initiation. Uma, Harry, and her whole crew surrounded me in a dark alley. Uma actually made some pretty good arguments when she tried to convince me to join her gang, and for a moment I was tempted to take her up on her offer."

Jay's brows lowered slightly, clearly not liking that little detail.

"Uma is a villain, but I actually agree with _some_ of her opinions." Gabby explained. "Like how it's unfair that we all have to live on this heap of trash for crimes that happened years before most of us were even born. She's right about that, you all have to admit that. I only disagree with her methods, obviously." Gabby pointed out. "I don't want to force my way into Auradon by kidnapping the King. I want to prove that I'm not my father, that I'm not a villain. I want to earn my freedom the right way. And when I turned down Uma's offer, she made Gil fight me to earn his spot in her gang. I could've held my own if the _whole rest_ of Uma's crew hadn't practically held me in place. It wasn't a fight; it was a beating. But that's not the point I was trying to make." Gabby went on, realizing in her anger she was getting off track.

"If it wasn't for the Anti-Heroes, and a bit because of my mom's influence, I would be a villain right now. I was tempted to join Uma that night, because I agreed with a couple of her ideas. But then I remembered that I agreed _more_ with the Anti-Heroes and what they stand for. If it wasn't for the Anti-Heroes, I would probably be in with Uma's crowd right now. And none of you have any right to judge me right now, because you all left me to fend for myself in this hell. I could have chosen the easy route and become a villain, but instead I've been working with the Anti-Heroes, trying to help people and do some good around here."

Feeling a bit overwhelmed from her onslaught of emotions, Gabby snatched her letters from Jay's hand and marched from the room, leaving behind an awkward silence. Evie and Carlos glanced at each other before looking up at Jay, who was staring blankly at the floor.

"Jay?" Evie broke the silence, looking worriedly up at him.

Jay blinked, but then whipped around and left the building, leaving Evie and Carlos alone. Jay knew where Gabby would be; at least, he hoped he did.

Sure enough, he walked out the door and out onto the balcony of the hideout and found Gabby sitting on her metal, fold up chair. She was holding the letters in her lap, but she was staring out over the ocean toward Auradon, just like she used to before he left.

Jay cleared his throat, walking up to the chair and leaning back against the wall right next to her. She avoided looking at him, keeping her eyes fixed on the horizon.

"I'm sorry." Jay told her, his eyes fixed firmly on her face. Her only reaction was a swallow. "I should have come back for you. I wanted to; when we came back to stop our parents a few months back, I looked for you. If I'd found you, I would have at least spoken to Ben about bringing you to Auradon."

Gabby glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"To be honest, I don't have a good excuse." Jay admitted. "I think we were all just trying to…move on with our lives. We all just wanted to forget about our lives over here; forget the people we used to be over here. And I guess that meant also forgetting the people we left behind."

"Am I that forgettable?" Gabby whispered, still watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"No, no you're definitely not." Jay shook his head firmly. "I had to keep myself busy. I threw myself into tourney practices, and then I went right into R.O.A.R, working to make myself the best on the team. I even did my school work and pushed myself to study. I kept myself so busy I had no time to think about you or my old life. Most of the time, I worked myself into exhaustion just so I could fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. But I'd have dreams. Mostly nightmares. I'd see you in some of them, I'd see my father hurting you, and I wasn't there to stop him. The guilt was eating away at me, but I tried to push it down."

Gabby nodded slowly, unsure how to handle this conversation. One glance at Jay's face, into his eyes, told her that he was being genuine. It didn't fix everything that had happened, but it was a start. And if she meant what she'd said about not wanting to become a villain, she needed to at least _try_ to forgive, or she was no better than her father.

"I figured out a recipe for applesauce cookies." Gabby announced bluntly, staring down at the letters in an attempt to avoid his eyes.

"That sounds really good."

Gabby nodded with a small smile. "They're a big hit with the Anti-Heroes and Dizzy. Yzla's addicted to them." she joked lightly.

Jay chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Not many people could make something deemed edible out of the garbage we're given here. You could easily be a chef or something."

"Dizzy suggested I sell my food. But there's not many people who would actually pay for it around here. Most would just steal it. Instead, I've been making food and going around giving it to people who need it."

Jay shook his head in amazement. "I've always known you were something else."

Gabby shrugged. "I'm no different from the other Anti-Heroes. After Gil's initiation, Gingersnap went to get help for me because I was knocked out. Claudine, Harry, and Jace carried me to Yzla's, and Yzla used her potions to heal my injuries. She's been doing the same for other people. They've all been doing things to help people on the Isle."

Jay nodded slowly. Then, he moved to crouch on the ground in front of the chair, looking up at her. This forced Gabby to meet his eyes.

"Gabby, I don't know what's going to happen in the next 24 hours. With Uma holding Ben hostage, I have no idea what's going to happen. If you want to help us, or not, that's your choice. I wouldn't blame you if you chose to sit this out. But I'm going to get you off this island. I swear, I will do whatever it takes to get you out of here."

Gabby was already shaking her head before he finished speaking. "Don't say that, Jay. Don't make promises or vows that you can't keep."

"Who says I can't keep it?" Jay countered.

"It's not your decision. It's the King's-"

"Ben is my friend. And he's a good person. He's now seen what the Isle is like. When I tell him how great a person you are, I know he'll bring you to Auradon. I'll do and say whatever I have to to convince him. If anyone deserves a chance, it's you. And I'm sorry it's taken me so long, but I _will_ get you that chance."

Gabby wanted so desperately to believe him, but she couldn't handle another disappointment. She couldn't get her hopes up again only to have them shattered.

"I'll believe that when it happens." she whispered.

Jay nodded in understanding.

"And I will help you guys." Gabby decided abruptly. "Not because I expect a reward in return, but because…because it's the right thing to do. And King Ben…I have a feeling if anyone's going to make a serious change in the world, it's him. If he had the faith to bring four villain kids into Auradon in the first place, maybe he'll go even farther in the future. And I don't just mean bringing me to Auradon. What about Dizzy? Or the rest of the Anti-Heroes? Or babies, kids, families? He has the power to change everything. I want to help you guys, to make sure he gets through this okay."

A slow smile spread over Jay's face as he stared up at her, and Gabby blushed.

"That right there is why it won't be difficult to convince Ben to give you a chance." Jay told her simply.

"Even though I'm Gaston's daughter?" Gabby checked.

"You're our friend before you're Gaston's daughter. That means more."

Gabby blushed more, looking down at the letters in her lap to hide her embarrassed smile. There was a moment of silence before Jay gently pulled the letters from her hands. She let him, knowing they were making some headway in getting back to the way they were before he left.

"So, did I read in one of these letters that you beat Harry with a _broom_?" Jay checked with a laugh.

Gabby also laughed, covering her red face with both gloved hands. "Shut up! It's the first thing I grabbed at the time!"

"Don't get embarrassed! That's awesome! I can only imagine how humiliated he was!" Jay laughed.

They laughed a bit more, and Gabby filled him in on a bit more, including how she'd bought her freedom from Jafar.

"Which reminds me," Gabby added, "I've paid off Jafar, but I still have to pay you-"

"No. No you do not." Jay shook his head firmly. "I don't own you. I never felt right considering you property. A sidekick, henchman, even partner, but not property. If anything, I owe _you_. And I'll repay you by getting you off this island."

"Jay-"

"Do you know why I bought you off your dad?" Jay asked suddenly, looking up at her from where he'd sat back on the ground against the railing behind him.

Gabby blinked, completely thrown by the question. "Uh…well, you said you thought I'd be useful. Like, I could cook and clean for you and Jafar."

Jay shook his head slowly. "That was my villain answer. I couldn't tell you the truth, because it would make me look weak. Sure, buying you was useful. My dad can't even make a sandwich, so we definitely ate better with you around. But the real reason I bought you that day…it was because of what everyone was saying about you." Jay admitted, looking down at the ground. "I could hear what everyone-what the guys-were saying about you. What they would do to you if you were their _property_. What they would make you do. And it made me sick. Seeing you that day, you looked like the kind of girl that was scared of your own shadow. You just stood there, hiding behind your hair, while your dad sold you to the highest bidder. I just…I wanted to protect you."

Gabby stared down at him, barely stopping herself from gaping at him. After so many years, she'd had no clue how he felt.

"I…I had no idea." Gabby finally whispered.

"I didn't want you to." Jay pointed out, looking up at her again. Gabby met his eyes and nodded slowly. She opened her mouth, unsure of what she was going to say, when the familiar sound of boots on the steps below caught her attention. Jay stood up and they both looked back at the stairs behind them. A few seconds later, Mal appeared, looking very angry. When she saw them, she nodded toward the door.

"We need a meeting. Uma's made her demands."

 **AN: Review and let me know what you all thought of Gabby and Jay's reunion. I hope I did it justice. Merry Christmas!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Ch 19 (Still 2015)**

"There's _no_ way we're gonna give Uma the wand!" Evie declared after Mal explained what happened between her and Uma at Ursula's Fish and Chips. "We can't just let her _destroy_ Auradon!"

"Uma doesn't get the wand, then Ben is toast." Carlos pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly." Jay agreed, looking back at Evie from where he was reclined on the couch.

"Right, so we're going to give _Uma_ of all people the wand." Evie agreed sarcastically.

"Is there a believable way we could trick her?" Gabby suggested, unsure if she'd even be heard over all the arguing.

"Wait, that's it!" Mal exclaimed, causing everyone to fall silent. "Your 3D printer." Mal said to Carlos.

"A phony wand." Carlos understood.

"Yes!"

"In my sleep."

"Yeah, but the second Uma tests it, she'll know it's fake." Evie pointed out worriedly.

"Okay, so we just get Ben out really fast, we'll need some kind of diversion." Mal suggested, holding her hand out as if asking everyone for ideas.

There was a moment of silence as they all thought it over, Jay even sitting up on the couch. Then, his face lit up. "Smoke bombs!"

"That's perfect!" Evie agreed. "I can get the chemicals we need from Lady Tremaine's place. That could work!" Evie hurried around the couch and approached Mal. "Oh, and sick hair, by the way. Evil Step mom seriously stepped up her game." she complimented, touching Mal's light purple hair.

"Okay, you wanna know something? Dizzy did this." Mal told her with a grin.

"Little Dizzy? _Shut up_." Evie started smiling.

"I know. I'm like, loving it. It's like a lot lighter."

"I'm really proud of her. I love what she did with Gabby's hair, it faded perfectly."

Gabby bit her lips to stop herself from smiling in amusement. A glance at the boys showed looks of complete disbelief. Jay had moved to stand behind Carlos at the desk. He abruptly cleared his throat, jabbing his elbow into Carlos's back.

"Hello?!" Carlos called, getting the girls' attention and causing them to turn and look at them.

"Hey, can I point something out before we carry out this plan?" Gabby asked, raising her hand from where she was sitting on the red leather couch. Everyone turned to look at her. "Uma's crew has nearly doubled in size since you guys left. I haven't done a headcount, but she's got _at least_ 11 people on her crew. Probably no more than 15. And there's only 5 of us."

"That's what the smoke bombs are for." Jay pointed out.

"Yes, and that's a brilliant idea." Gabby agreed earnestly. "But they still have more than double our numbers. Now, if we had a bigger group of people, preferably here on the Isle, maybe people who have helped you guys defeat villains in the past…" Gabby trailed off knowingly.

Carlos's face lit up. "The Anti-Heroes." he realized, looking among the others, who all started to grin at the idea.

"Would enough of them be willing to help?" Evie asked. "And do we have time to track them all down before noon tomorrow?"

"I could track down most of them pretty easily." Gabby explained. "I'm not sure if all of them would be willing to help, but I know for a fact that some of them will jump at the chance."

"And while we're in Auradon, maybe we can track down Freddie." Jay suggested, looking down at Carlos.

"Freddie?" Gabby repeated, confused.

"Dr. Facilier's daughter. She…sort of snuck into Auradon a few months back." Jay explained, making Gabby frown. She'd noticed Freddie disappear; a lot of people did.

"And she was just…allowed to stay?" Gabby asked hesitantly.

"We don't have time to discuss this." Mal interrupted abruptly. "If you find Freddie, you can ask her." she told Jay and Carlos. "Evie and I will make the smoke bombs at Lady Tremaine's. Gabby can round up the Anti-Heroes. We can meet up at Pirate's Bay, no later than noon. We'll go over the last details of the plan."

"I could also scope the place out beforehand." Gabby suggested. "Just to see what the area is like, maybe I can find something useful?"

"Great idea. Okay, let's go." Mal ordered, grabbing her bag. Everyone grabbed their jackets and bags and headed out of the hideout. Gabby slipped her naginata onto her back.

"Hey," Jay grabbed Gabby's wrist as they stepped into the alley below, "be careful at the docks. Don't get caught."

Gabby grinned up at him. "I won't. I'll see you there tomorrow."

They all split up and went their separate ways. After a few minutes of walking, Gabby decided to check out the docks quickly first, and then track down the Anti-Heroes. It hopefully wouldn't take her long to scope the place out.

If anything, the walk to Pirate's Bay took longer than checking it out. The docks were cluttered with shops, and she was sure it would be crowded with people during the day.

Gabby snuck around a corner and then hid behind a barrel. She noted it could be used for a hiding place if they needed to hide something in it. There were also several different levels, along with stairs and ladders to get to them. Perfect to gain leverage over Uma's crew. Maybe someone could shoot the smoke bombs from higher up.

There was a short wooden bridge connecting Uma's ship, the Lost Revenge, to the docks. Gabby carefully looked across it from a distance and noticed people on the ship. The first person she saw was Harry Hook pacing the ship, probably on guard duty. She also saw King Ben tied to the ship's mast. A closer look all over the ship made Gabby looked up at the crow's nest, the lookout post high up on the ship's mast. She could barely make out Gil sitting up there, probably meant to be keeping watch, but it looked like he fell asleep.

Taking note of the layout, Gabby stayed for only a few more minutes before silently slipping back the way she'd come. She then went in search of the Anti-Heroes. She wasn't sure where to search first, then figured going to Frollo's Creperie would be a good idea, as it was closest and she would probably at least find Claudine there.

Sure enough, she found Claudine and Yzla hanging out outside Claudine's father's shop, eating what looked like old crepes, which Claudine probably snatched from her father's shop.

"Hey, you two up for a big mission?" Gabby asked quietly when she reached them. "Like, save-the-King-of-Auradon kind of big mission?"

Claudine and Yzla exchanged a glance before looking back at her with grins. "Sounds intriguing. Do we get anymore information than that?" Claudine asked curiously.

"Well, long story short; Mal returned to the Isle, her boyfriend, King Ben, followed to try and fail to convince her to come back and in the process got himself kidnapped by Harry Hook. Then, Uma made the deal with Mal that she'd release the King if Mal brings her Fairy Godmother's magic wand."

"Mal's not actually handing over the wand, is she?" Yzla asked. "Who knows what Uma could do with that kind of magic?"

"I'll fill you in on the full plan if you're in on it. I'll just warn you; it could be dangerous. We're going up against Uma's crew." Gabby warned.

"Well, you _know_ I'm in." Claudine declared as if she was crazy for having to ask. "I've been wanting to go against Uma and Hook for ages."

Gabby grinned. "Good. We'll need the numbers. I need to find as many Anti-Heroes as I can. We have to meet Uma at Pirate's Bay no later than noon tomorrow."

"What about asking Big Murph?" Yzla asked, her eyes fixed over Gabby's shoulder. Gabby looked behind her just as Yzla let out a sharp whistle. Big Murph, who was on the other side of the lane, glanced over at the three girls, who waved him over.

"What's up?" he asked when he crossed the road to them.

As Gabby gave him a brief rundown of what was going on, Hadie joined them in time to hear most of the explanation.

"Cool!" Hadie beamed up at them. "We can help save the King of Auradon. I want to help!"

The girls laughed at his eagerness, but Gabby was hesitant to get him involved. Hadie was only twelve, and he wasn't much of a fighter. She didn't want him getting hurt.

Then, an idea occurred to her. "Can you shoot slingshots or something similar?" she asked him.

Hadie shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, I've shot slingshots before. It's easy. Why?"

"Perfect. I'll talk to Mal to ensure she's cool with it, but I think you'd be perfect for smoke bomb duty." Gabby told him, making his grin widen excitedly. She didn't say out loud that smoke bomb duty would most likely keep Hadie out of the fighting.

"What about you?" Claudine asked, fixing her eyes on Big Murph. "You in?"

Big Murph sighed, scratching the back of his head and then fixing his headband when he messed it up. "I don't know." he admitted. "If I help you guys Harry will probably rat me out to Harriet. I want to help." he hurried to add. "But it could backfire on me in the long run."

"Or it might not." Gabby pointed out. "I don't know the King, so I can't speak for him, but he's already given four villain kids a chance at a life in Auradon. He might be willing to do the same for people who risked their lives to save him tomorrow. At least, Jay seems to think so. Jay told me he'll do anything he can to convince King Ben to bring me to Auradon, though I'm still hesitant to trust him. But _I_ can guarantee that I will try to convince him to give the Anti-Heroes a chance, too. He may not be able to bring everyone over at once, because that's a lot of people."

"No, but even if most of us are still stuck here, we've got each other's backs." Yzla pointed out, glancing over at Big Murph. "Even if Harriet decides to make you an enemy, you know you've got all of us on your side."

Big Murph nodded slowly, staring down at his feet. "I suppose." he agreed hesitantly. "I'll think about it." he decided, looking up at Gabby.

Gabby nodded in understanding. "Sure. If you decide to help, meet us near Pirate's Bay around eleven o'clock tomorrow. Then we'll have time to go over the plan with Mal and the others and work out the details before we confront Uma."

Gabby wandered the Isle in search of the other Anti-Heroes, but only managed to find Hermie and Eddie. Neither of them felt comfortable at the idea of going up against Uma, especially if it lead to a fight; which it would, knowing Uma. And neither of them were fighters. Gabby assured them it was fine and continued on her way. By that point, she didn't have much time left to look for anyone. It was well after midnight and she wanted to return to the hideout, both to meet up with Mal and Evie, and hopefully to catch a few hours of sleep before the big showdown.

It was very dark out by the time Gabby returned to the hideout to find Mal and Evie relaxing together on the red couch.

"Hey." Gabby greeted them, tossing her bag to the ground and sitting at the desk. "I found a few of the Anti-Heroes and filled them in. Claudine Frollo, Yzla, and Hadie are for sure in. Though, I told Hadie he could be on smoke bomb duty, since he's younger and not much of a fighter. There are plenty of high up places he can hide in at the docks and shoot the smoke bombs."

Mal nodded. "Good idea. We made five smoke bombs, so he'll need to use them sparingly."

"You can explain to him in more detail. I told them to meet us near the docks around eleven so we can go over more of the details for the plan." Gabby explained. "Big Murph is a maybe, but he's hesitant to get involved. The others either don't want to get involved, or I couldn't track them down."

"Well, with us five, and those three so far, that makes eight." Mal summed up. "It's not much, but it evens the playing field."

"And Ben knows how to swordfight if he needs to." Evie pointed out. "He used to be on the R.O.A.R team before he became King. So, once we free him, that's another number on our side; nine."

"It's close enough. We'll have the element of surprise on our side, too. And it shouldn't be a long fight. Just long enough to get away." Mal decided.

"So you guys can run off back to Auradon and the rest of us can hide in some hole on this prison with the people we're about to piss off." Gabby couldn't help the sarcastic comment. Mal and Evie exchanged a slightly awkward glance, making Gabby almost feel bad. Standing up, Gabby turned away and returned to her red beanbag in her corner. Gingersnap was already perched on her lamp, her red, feathered head lowered and a quiet snoring sound proving she'd fallen asleep. Gabby figured her bird had the right idea. Curling up on her beanbag, Gabby took off her jacket and used it as a blanket. Closing her eyes, she tried to force herself into sleep, knowing that in several more hours things were going to be crazy.

*~0~*

It was just after 11:00 the next morning, and Gabby was standing with Mal and Evie near the docks like they'd all agreed. Gabby had her naginata strapped to the back of her jacket, and Evie was holding Mal's purple bag, which held the smoke bombs. Getting anxious, Gabby unconsciously began bouncing her leg. She was starting to feel impatient, wondering if anyone was going to actually show up. Before she could really start to worry, though, three familiar shapes rounded a corner and approached the three girls.

"Well, well, long time no see." Claudine greeted Mal and Evie with a smirk, her dark hair pulled back in a braid. Yzla and Hadie walked at her sides. "Hey, Mal, Evie."

"Claudine." Mal and Evie returned the greeting, Evie smiling and Mal smirking. "Wish we were meeting again under better circumstances." Mal added by herself.

"Where's the fun in that?" Claudine laughed. "So, what exactly is the plan?"

"I'll wait a bit to fill everyone in." Mal told her. "I'd rather not go over the plan several times. But it's fairly simple."

"Do you guys know if anyone else is coming?" Evie asked them.

They both shrugged. "I'm not sure." Yzla answered. "I've been too busy concocting a little surprise to look for anyone." she explained with a smirk, her hand fiddling with the strap of her backpack.

"Well, that doesn't sound the least bit scary." a new, familiar voice spoke from the shadows, causing them all to turn expectantly. Big Murph arrived, smirking at them. Behind him was Diego De Vil, and Harry and Jace Badun.

"You came?" Gabby asked with a shocked grin on her face. "All of you did?"

Diego nodded. "Yeah, Big Murph tracked us down and told us what was happening, and we wanted in. I mean, if little Carlos has the guts to go up against Harry Hook, I'm not missing out."

"Yeah. Where is Carlos?" Jace asked curiously, looking around as if expecting him to pop out.

"Him and Jay should be on their way back now." Mal told them. "They're in Auradon, making a fake wand for the plan, and hopefully finding Freddie Facilier to see if she'd want to help us out."

"If I know Freddie, she will." Yzla agreed. "She hates Uma. They were always trying to out-sass each other."

Everyone chuckled.

"So,…you're really in?" Gabby asked Big Murph.

"Yeah, I am." he agreed. "I figured, Yzla made a good point last night. The Anti-Heroes have had my back more times in the last few months than Harriet ever has. So, the least I can do is stand by you guys, and the King."

Everyone smiled at his response.

"Well, this definitely tips the odds in our favor." Evie noted. "That makes at least…thirteen people on our side. Fourteen if they get Freddie."

"We'll be fine." Mal decided firmly. "We've got the numbers, a plan, and the element of surprise."

Everyone was nodding in agreement as a long, fancy, black limo turned the corner and pulled up next to them. Gabby gaped at it. It looked exactly like the limo that had taken Jay and the others to Auradon in the first place several months ago. Three doors opened and four people stepped out.

"Lonnie!" Mal exclaimed in shock as a teenage girl with long, black hair wearing a blue and yellow outfit greeted her and Evie with hugs.

Jay, Carlos, and who Gabby recognized as Freddie stepped out of the limo. Freddie greeted the other Anti-Heroes while Jay and Carlos moved to the trunk of the car.

"Hey, you're Gabby right?" Freddie asked after greeting Claudine and Yzla.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you again." Gabby greeted quietly, still glancing at Lonnie with Evie. She heard her say she made Jay and Carlos bring her.

"So, what's the big plan?" Freddie asked, directing the question at Mal as Lonnie stepped next to Evie. Gabby glanced curiously at the girl. She must be an Auradon girl, whoever she was.

"Basically, Uma wants us to trade Fairy Godmother's wand for Ben by noon, or he gets thrown to the sharks." Mal started.

"But we're trading a fake wand instead." Claudine guessed.

"Yep. Carlos made one with his 3D printer in his dorm." Mal explained as Jay and Carlos joined them, Carlos holding the wand and Jay carrying a case of swords. Mal held her hand out expectantly, and Carlos passed the wand to her. She looked it over approvingly. It was beautiful and ornately decorated, in Gabby's mind. Surely it was good enough to fool Uma for at least a few seconds.

"What about the rest of us?" Big Murph asked after greeting Jay with a high five. "If we all show up, it would be a show of force. It would make Uma suspicious."

Mal nodded. "Good point. Hadie, Gabby already mentioned you being on smoke bomb duty. Do you have a slingshot on hand?" Hadie held up a handmade slingshot in answer. "Good."

"While we're on that subject, how many smoke bombs do you have?" Yzla asked.

"We made five. We only need enough to distract the pirates." Mal answered.

"Well,…I made a few _special_ smoke bombs in you're interested." Yzla announced with a sly smile.

"Special how?" Mal asked with a smirk.

"Let's just say…anyone hit with one won't be a problem for a good hour or so, before the effects wear off. So don't hit anyone on our side with one." she added sternly to Hadie before handing her bag to him. He nodded seriously, and Gabby knew he'd be extra careful with that particular bag. She knew in that moment she'd made a good choice giving him that job. He was naturally a careful person.

"I checked the docks out before I tracked everyone down." Gabby spoke up. "I saw a few good hiding spots, including a place for you to hide and shoot the smoke bombs from." she added to Hadie. "But once they're all gone, you need to get out of there. No heroics. Got it?"

Hadie rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement.

"I'll make sure he gets out." Claudine spoke up, ruffling Hadie's blue hair with her hand playfully.

"And I can point out some places for everyone to hide until it's time." Gabby added, speaking mostly to Mal.

She nodded once. "Good. Uma will expect us four," she started, gesturing to herself, Evie, Jay, and Carlos, "and she'll probably expect Gabby to be involved. And Lonnie, since you're obviously wearing Auradon clothes, you'll stay in the open with us. Everyone else, stay out of sight until the real action starts. When Uma realizes the wand's fake and orders an attack. And Hadie, that's when you start the smoke bombs, okay?"

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"We should probably do a quick introduction, since not everyone here knows each other. We don't need any fighting among ourselves due to a mix-up." Jay pointed out.

Mal nodded. "Okay. Gabby, Claudine Frollo, Yzla, Diego De Vil, Harry, Jace, Big Murph, Freddie, and guys, this is Lonnie."

Everyone glanced among themselves, nodding in greeting to people they didn't know.

"Are we good?" Mal asked, causing everyone to nod. "Let's do this."

 **AN: New year, new chapter! Hope you all like the changes I've made from the movie. Please review and let me know what you all think!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Ch 20 (Still 2015)**

With Mal in the lead, the group passed through the metal tunnel that lead to the docks. When they came out on the other side, the smell of salt water and fish hit Gabby's nose. Their footsteps clumped on the wood of the docks as the large group approached the pirate ship in the near distance.

As they got closer to the ship, the Anti-Heroes gradually split off, hiding in various places where they were hidden from view, but could still see what was happening. Gabby grabbed Hadie's shoulder and pointed at a ladder as they walked past it. Hadie nodded and climbed up it to the little platform high above everyone's heads. He had both Mal's and Yzla's bags with him.

With most of the group hidden, Mal lead the others into plain view of Uma's ship. Gil called out to the others that they had arrived and Uma was waiting for them. Mal walked right up to the bridge that connected the ship to the docks. Carlos and Lonnie stayed behind Mal, while Jay, Gabby, and Evie were in the back a level above everyone. Jay stashed the collection of swords in a barrel Gabby pointed out to him.

"Finally!" Uma cackled when she saw them. "Don't try to negotiate with me, Mal. I'll throw him overboard if you don't hand over the wand." she called, gesturing with one hand to where Harry had walked King Ben out to the end of the plank, his hands and ankles tied with rope. Gabby exchanged glances with Jay and Evie. They all knew Uma wasn't bluffing.

"Take it easy, Uma. You'll get your wand. No one has to get hurt." Mal told her calmly.

Jay, Gabby, and Evie ducked or swung under the handrail to land on the level below, bringing them closer to the rest of the group. Mal and Uma both moved out onto the short bridge, meeting halfway and talking shortly. Harry Hook joined them, and Jay moved out onto the bridge with them, clearly not liking how close Harry was getting to Mal.

They returned to their own sides, and Carlos passed the wand to Mal. She started to cross the bridge again, about to hand it over to Uma, when Ben called out.

"Mal, don't! There's got to be a better way. Uma, I promise I'll give you a chance to come to Auradon."

Uma cackled. " _You'll_ give me a chance?" she repeated incredulously. "I'll take my own chance. Now, hand over the wand." she added, pointing her sword at Mal.

Mal took another step forward, holding the wand out.

"Hold up." Uma ordered, making Mal pause. Gabby's breath caught in her throat. "Hmm. Too easy. Why don't you give it a test drive?" Uma suggested knowingly. Gabby and Jay exchanged a glance, though they both kept their expressions blank. How was Mal supposed to test drive the fake wand? Why didn't they think of this before? "We want to see it work." Uma added with a grin.

Mal gave a forced chuckle. "You always were _quite_ the drama queen."

"Oh, and nothing too big, or else Ben is fish bait." Uma threatened. Gabby glanced over at the plank and saw that Harry was practically hanging Ben over the water.

"Now what?" Gabby hissed at Jay.

"Mal's got this." Jay whispered after a short pause.

In that moment, Mal looked back at Carlos and Evie. Gabby didn't see what silent message they sent to each other, but Mal looked back at Uma, then turned away, putting one hand on the railing of the bridge. "Okay."

Everyone watched Mal closely. Gabby followed where Mal's gaze was fixed and found a familiar, small, brown dog. Gabby instantly recognized it as Carlos's dog, though she had no clue where he came from, but the red, black, and white leather vest would have been a giveaway.

 _"Although it seems absurd, turn your bark into a word."_ Mal chanted, waving the wand at the dog across the dock.

Gabby's expression remained blank, but her mind ran over the words in her head. What exactly was Mal trying to pull?

Nothing happened for several seconds, which seemed to drag on painfully. Mal glanced awkwardly at Uma. Gabby glanced at Jay, who appeared to be holding his breath.

"Talk, dog." Mal commanded tensely.

"Does this vest make me look fat?" the dog whispered.

Gabby's mouth fell open, as did several other people's. Carlos's dog _talked_? Jay's shoulders fell slightly as he released his breath. He glanced at Gabby and winked, while she was barely refraining from gaping in shock.

"Hey, does anyone have some bacon?" the dog continued. "Cookies?"

Gabby snorted, and then covered her mouth and looked at Jay again. He smirked at her before focusing on Uma and Mal.

Uma seemed to have fallen for the trick. "Give me the wand!"

"Give me Ben!" Mal countered.

There was about five seconds of tense silence as Mal and Uma stared each other down, everyone waiting for what would happen. Finally, Uma relented.

"Harry, bring him over." she ordered.

Harry obeyed, dragging Ben backwards off the plank and directed him toward the bridge. The pirates jeered and taunted Ben as he passed, and Gabby saw Gil hurry up and say something to Ben, but he didn't look threatening.

Harry shoved Ben to his knees on the bridge, right in front of Mal. Uma and Mal both held their hands out expectantly, but neither was willing to give an inch without the other doing the same.

"Cut him loose, Harry." Uma ordered, her eyes not leaving Mal's.

Harry looked disappointed, but he did as ordered, slicing his sword up through the ropes on Ben's ankles and wrists. Ben instantly latched onto Mal's outstretched hand, and Mal passed the wand to Uma. As soon as the wand was in Uma's hand, the pirates began cheering, and Gabby instinctively touched her naginata on her back, knowing the next few minutes could go good or bad.

Mal yanked Ben to his feet and began pushing him away from the ship, but he appeared to be fighting her, probably thinking they'd just handed over the real wand. Uma ran back to her ship, her pirates crowding around her rambunctiously.

"Come on, come on." Gabby muttered, bouncing anxiously as Mal continued to inch Ben back to safety, but it wasn't fast enough. Gabby pulled out her naginata and glanced over her shoulder, knowing they would need to fight their way out.

"No!" Uma shrieked. She'd tried and failed to use the wand, making her realize it was fake. She snapped it over her knee. "You do not get to win every time!" she yelled at Mal.

"Guys!" Jay shouted, tipping over the barrel and passing out swords.

"Get 'em!"

"Hadie, now!" Gabby yelled, running over the dock closer to Jay and the others.

Hadie fired a blue smoke bomb right at the ship's deck, covering almost the whole pirate crew. He then fired a yellow one at the crow's nest, distracting the two pirates up there.

"Ben!" Evie tossed a sword, and Ben caught it easily just as pirates started swinging over on ropes.

There was chaos as people not involved tried to run for safety, while pirates swung over on ropes through the colored smoke and Anti-Heroes rushed forward to meet them. Swords clashed all across the docks as both sides met.

More pirates rushed across the bridge after the smoke cleared, but Mal rushed to protect the bridge. She easily threw one guy into the water below when he came at her. Gabby's naginata met Bonny's sword, a crazy grin on the other girl's face as she swung her sword over and over again. Gabby met her attack with practiced precision, shifting her hold on her favorite weapon to offer a better defense whenever necessary. When Bonny swung high, Gabby saw her opening. While Bonny's sword was high overhead, Gabby ducked and spun around behind the other girl, knocking her naginata into the backs of her knees. Bonny crumpled to the ground and Gabby gave her a good shove, sending her rolling into the water below.

Temporarily free, Gabby glanced around to check what was happening with the others. More pirates were rushing across the bridge, and Mal let most of them through. However, Hadie shot another smoke bomb at the deck of the ship, catching two of the last pirates before they could escape. When the smoke cleared, Gabby couldn't help laughing. Yzla had a wonderful sense of humor. Her special smoke bombs turned one pirate into a tiny, fluffy bunny, and the other one into a sloth.

Mal was fighting Uma. Carlos was fighting Tamara. Claudine was fighting Jonas. Big Murph was fighting Stan.

When Gabby saw Harry Hook and Jay facing each other, her first instinct was to join in. Not only to prove to Jay she could easily handle Harry now, but because she'd almost come to see Harry as her own nemesis. But before she could reach them, she saw Gil swing over on a rope, landing right in front of King Ben. They both pulled out their swords and began fighting. Gabby wasn't sure if Gil was taking this fight seriously, considering he was fighting the son of their father's enemy, but she felt a need to step in. She would probably be of more use in that fight then Jay and Harry's.

Leaping over the handrail, she landed right behind Ben. She wasn't sure if he would appreciate or be offended by her stepping in on his fight, but as their swords swung, Gabby thrust her naginata through, causing all three blades to clang together.

"Hey Gil, remember me?" Gabby asked sarcastically before slamming the other end of her weapon into his gut. Ben backed off, and Gabby spun to bring her blade against Gil's again.

"Come on, Gabby. Don't make me do this." Gil begged as their blades met over and over again. "That was our ticket to freedom. If Mal had just handed over the wand, we'd be free. Isn't that what you want?"

"Not like this." Gabby countered, unable to forget how Gil had beat her to earn his place in this gang. "I want to earn my freedom by proving I'm nothing like Gaston. What Uma is doing is no better than what all our parents have done in the past, and it's not going to end well for any of you."

"I don't want to hurt anyone." Gil swore. "I just want to be free. I want out of here. And Uma's done a lot for me."

"Well, good for you." Gabby sneered. "It must be nice, having people out there who have your back. At least you know you'll never get ganged up on and beaten into submission."

Gil flinched, probably being reminded of painful memories, not of what he did to his sister, but of what their father used to do to them as children. Gaston had always been a harsh discipliner, but Gabby had always taken the worse beatings, sometimes just for existing. Gil would try to step in once in a while…but after a few good beatings for doing just that, he would just watch on the sidelines with their brothers. Gabby knew that deep down, Gil had a good heart. A soft heart and a slow mind, really. He wasn't evil, or even really mean, but Gabby found it very difficult, even painful, to consider forgiving him for beating her that night. She wouldn't have cared if it'd been a fair fight, like the one they were in now. But she'd been ganged up on, and he went along with it.

"You could still join Uma." Gil tried to convince her as he blocked another swing of her blade. "You could help me catch Ben before he gets away. We could catch him and bring him to Uma, and she'll let you join the crew." Then, Gil's face lit up excitedly. "And if you helped catch the Beast's son, Dad would finally be proud of you."

Gabby's eyes went wide in anger at the sheer audacity of the suggestion. The rational part of her mind knew Gil's simple mind didn't quite understand the depths of her pain, but that didn't stop her from lashing out in that moment.

She spun on one foot, bringing her other out in a strong kick to Gil's chest. The blow made him stumble back. He backed up again when Gabby followed up her spin with a slash of her naginata. However, Gil backing up made him stumble over the step behind him he wasn't aware of. He fell flat on his back and barely brought his sword up in time to block Gabby's naginata as she swung it down toward his face. Their blades clanged loudly together and trembled under the force.

"Gabby!" Jay paused in running past her. "Come on!"

Gabby hesitated, then whipped her naginata around so that the handle smacked into Gil's hand, knocking his sword aside. With him unarmed, she turned and ran after Jay, who was calling to everyone to get moving. Ben and Evie were fighting back-to-back, and Mal had just temporarily disarmed Uma and was rushing to join her friends.

Running up right behind Jay, Gabby found herself meeting up with Carlos and Evie for a second. Just behind them, Gabby was impressed when she saw Lonnie fighting both Bonny and Desiree at once.

"Jay, go start the car." Carlos ordered.

"I'll meet you guys there." Evie told them, before turning and joining another fight. Jay ran past them, and Gabby followed. Jay pulled Lonnie away from the fight while he passed, and Carlos took her place fighting the two girls.

Jay ran toward the tunnel that would lead straight to the limo. Gabby hesitated on the bridge leading to it, looking back at the fight. She looked just in time to see Hadie toss a smoke bomb to Evie, who threw it down between the two warring sides, giving them a chance to escape.

Figuring everyone could get away on their own, Gabby hurried after Jay. She knew the Auradon kids would need to make a fast getaway, leaving the Isle almost at once. And she wanted to be there before that.

The clanging of her combat boots echoed loudly through the metal tunnel as she ran after Jay and Lonnie. She stepped out into the dreary Isle daylight on the other side and made the short jump to the ground below before running up to the limo. She passed Lonnie on the way, the Auradon girl seemed to be waiting at the tunnel entrance for the others with her sword still in hand. Jay was sitting in the driver's seat, starting the car. When Gabby reached the open door, he looked up at her before getting out of the limo. He cast one quick glance at the tunnel before focusing on her.

"I don't know how long it's going to take, but I swear to you, I will get you off this island." Jay vowed, his voice serious through his mildly-labored breathing. "I'll talk to Ben about it as soon as we're safe, and if he doesn't take action within the next few days, I'll come back for you myself, consequences be damned."

Gabby nodded slowly. She knew the King would be busy at least for the next 24 hours; the Cotillion was that night. "All I can do is wait and see if you keep your word."

Jay winced at the jab, but he understood. She really had no reason to trust him. Carlos had arrived already and had already opened the trunk for the swords and ordered Dude into the car. Evie had also just arrived with a few members of the Anti-Heroes. Jay knew he needed to leave in just a few short seconds and needed to make this quick.

He abruptly pulled Gabby into his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Gabby froze before hesitantly hugging him back, not knowing what was happening.

"I swear I'm not leaving you behind again." he whispered into her ear, his breath warm against her neck. "I _will_ come back for you."

"Just kiss her already!" Dude called from the backseat of the limo, causing the two to jerk away from each other.

"Shut up, mutt!" Jay snapped back, turning away and getting into the limo to hide the slight reddening of his cheeks. Gabby's own fair skin was bright red, but there was no hiding it. She simply backed up and stood with Claudine and Hadie as they watched Mal and Ben finally arrive. Freddie saluted her fellow Anti-Heroes before piling into the back with them. Then, the car peeled out of the old pier and headed toward Auradon.

Gabby stared after the limo for a long moment, trying not to let herself hope for Jay's return. She simply couldn't trust his word until something actually happened. She'd been let down before.

"We should get out of here." Claudine whispered, tugging on Gabby's arm. "Most of the others split up and got away. I'll get Hadie home safe."

Gabby nodded, glancing at Claudine before forcing a smile for Hadie. "Good job, kid." she told him, holding her hand up for a high five before they all hurried off in different directions. Gabby raced as fast as she could, ducking in and out of alleys until she returned to the hideout. When she got inside, Gingersnap flew to her shoulder and snuggled into her neck just under her jaw. The poor bird hated being left behind. Gabby guessed it reminded her too much of when Gabby was first sold, leaving Gingersnap in the care of Gabby's brothers.

"Well, that's done." Gabby whispered, still catching her breath from her run through the Isle's alleys. "The King is safe and well on his way to Auradon. Now, we just wait to see if Jay follows through."

*~0~*

"If Ben isn't smart enough to love you, and you can't stand another day, I'll drive you back tomorrow myself." Jay told Mal, hating how lost and broken she looked. She was supposed to be the strong leader in their group, but she'd been struggling for a long time, and everyone ignored it.

When Mal gave him a sad smile in response, Jay returned it before patting her shoulder and standing up, leaving her to think. Now, however, he had to push his overprotective, big-brother-like feelings concerning Mal aside for the time being. He couldn't have a rational talk with Ben if he was focusing on how much pain Mal was in because of Ben.

Hurrying off toward the castle where he'd seen Ben go with Jane, Jay caught sight of them pretty quickly.

"Hey, Ben!" Jay called, running a short distance until he reached the pair, who'd stopped and turned to wait for him. "Do you have a sec? I need to talk to you about something."

Ben looked at Jane. "Could you head to my office, please? I'll be there as soon as I can."

Jane glanced anxiously at Jay. "Well,…okay, but make it quick. We still have a lot to do for tonight." she told him before hurrying off toward the front door of the castle.

Ben turned to Jay with a sigh. "Look, Jay, I know you care about Mal, but-"

"That's not what this is about." Jay cut him off. "Don't even get me started on that topic. This is about Gabby."

"Gabby?" Ben repeated, puzzled.

"Yeah. She's…a friend of mine from the Isle. She's friends with Evie, Carlos, and Mal, too. She helped us save you, along with several members of the Anti-Heroes." Jay explained.

Ben nodded slowly. "I remember you guys mentioning the Anti-Heroes after the last time you had to return to the Isle. But I don't remember you mentioning a Gabby being a member."

"Because she wasn't back then. She joined them not long after that."

Ben tilted his head thoughtfully. "Does she have black hair? With red ends?"

Jay nodded. He'd been shocked when he first saw her new hair the day before. She'd changed a lot, but was still beautiful. "That's her."

"She helped me back at the docks. She fought Gil." Ben explained shortly.

Jay winced. "Gil's her brother." he admitted quietly.

Ben blinked, his eyes widening slightly. "So she's…"

"Gaston's daughter. But she's had nothing to do with Gaston since she was twelve. And she's always been different. She's _good_ , Ben. She's always wanted to come to Auradon. She's never belonged on the Isle. I left her there alone for the last six months, and I can't do that anymore. If you don't bring her over, I'll do it myself."

"Alright, alright, calm down." Ben told him. "I'm not going to say 'no' just because she's Gaston's daughter. I saw her take on her brother, for crying out loud. And honestly, since seeing what the Isle is really like, I've been seriously thinking about bringing more kids over. I should have done it before this. I just need to think about who to choose. And honestly, Gabby sounds like a prime candidate."

"But you need to get her out of there soon. Please. She's already on Uma and Harry's bad side, and she willingly joined the fight to save you, simply because it was the right thing to do. Please, get her out of there as soon as possible." Jay practically begged.

Ben's lips twitched in a tiny grin. He was starting to think there was more to Jay and Gabby's relationship than Jay was admitting. "Okay, but I don't have any time today. I still have things to do before Cotillion tonight. I'll call a Council meeting as soon as I can tomorrow and see what I can do. Okay?"

Jay nodded reluctantly. "Okay. But I mean it, Ben, I'm not leaving her there again."


	21. Chapter 21

**Ch 21 (Still 2015)**

The couple days since the King's rescue seemed to drag on as Gabby spent pretty much all her time up in the hideout with Gingersnap. She'd watched the Cotillion both from the TV and then from her favorite balcony seat. Auradon News Network had filmed everyone boarding the cruise ship, and Gabby smiled when Evie proudly wore some of Dizzy's accessories and gave the young girl a shout out on live TV.

After everyone had boarded the boat, the paparazzi wasn't allowed to film live, and said they'd post highlights later, so Gabby had taken to her balcony to watch the ship from a distance. She could see the lights and almost hear the music even halfway across the ocean.

Of course, she also barely saw the fight between what looked like a giant octopus and a purple dragon. Putting two and two together, Gabby had guessed it was Uma and Mal, considering who, and what, their parents were. The highlights aired on TV later that night proved her right and filled in the details she missed. She was relieved the fight hadn't been too serious and no one was injured. But she couldn't help wondering if Uma had given up as easily as she appeared to. Uma wasn't the type to just give up.

Gabby was on edge and at war with herself. She kept reminding herself that the King was probably very busy and had more important things to worry about then bringing one girl over from the Isle. Then, she would also keep reminding herself that she couldn't get her hopes up anyway.

It was hard to keep track of how long she waited, but she estimated it was only two days. She was trying to find things to do to pass the time. She wasn't sure she was ready to venture out of the hideout yet. Harry and the rest of Uma's crew were probably still sore over not only losing the fight and possibility of freedom, but they were also without a Captain now that Uma was somewhere in the seas surrounding Auradon. So, Gabby was trying to pass the time reading through all her old letters she wrote to Jay.

She was doing just that when she heard the familiar sound of footsteps and creak of the hideout's door opening. She paused, holding her breath as her ears strained to hear.

"Gabby?"

Her breath caught in her throat. Jumping to her feet, she hurried across the hideout only to freeze in place, her eyes meeting his as he entered the room.

Gabby and Jay stared at each other for a long, tense moment. Gabby was pretty sure she was in shock. Jay was standing right there, in front of her. His expression was blank. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look upset either.

Then, he lifted a hand to reveal a scroll. Gabby glanced from his face to the scroll and back again. He just raised his eyebrows at her, silently telling her to take it.

Taking a deep breath, Gabby reached out and took it, unrolling it to read the fancy print as Gingersnap landed on her shoulder.

' _His Royal Majesty, King Ben of Auradon, and his Counselors Miss Evie and Sir Jay of the Isle, hereby request the pleasure of your company, Gabrielle, for the current academic year at Auradon Prep._

 _If you need time to consider the offer, take all the time you need, but you are invited to come whenever you wish._

 _Signed,_

 _King Ben'_

Gabby slowly raised her head to stare at Jay in shock, her mouth hanging open. Jay finally allowed a grin to spread over his face.

"Is this real?" she whispered in shock. "I-I can go to Auradon? Right now?"

Jay nodded. "Yep. Whenever you're ready, we can get going. I came with some of Ben's couriers. They're delivering a similar message to Dizzy and Hadie as we speak. They have a few days or so to decide, but I made it clear to Ben that you needed to get out of here as soon as possible. We just need to get back to the limo, and we're outta here."

Gabby gaped wordlessly, too shocked and overwhelmed for words. Then, she slammed into Jay and hugged him tighter than she ever had in her life. He laughed quietly, hugging her back.

"Thank you." Gabby whispered, her breathing shaky as she tried and failed to get a handle on her emotions.

"Don't thank me." Jay told her, squeezing her tighter. "I should have done this a long time ago. Now, we're even."

Gabby pulled back and looked curiously up at him. "How are we even? First, you saved me from my father, now you're bringing me to Auradon. If anything, I owe you."

Jay was already shaking his head before she finished speaking. "Not even close, Gabs. But I'm not going to stand here and list all the reasons I owe you. You need to pack so we can blow this popsicle stand."

Gabby laughed, her body feeling light for the first time in ages. Turning, she rushed back to her little corner and paused, trying to decide what all to bring. She didn't have much, and what she did have wasn't all that valuable.

She started grabbing some of her clothes lying around the building, stuffing them in an old cloth sack. She even folded up Jay's letters and stuck them in the bag.

"Perch." Gingersnap insisted, perching on her lamp and staring at Gabby.

"We can't bring your perch." Gabby argued. "It's too big. I can get you a new one."

Gingersnap made a farting sound in response, but fluttered to Gabby's shoulder.

Looking around, Gabby paused and slowly picked up her naginata, looking down at it, both fond and sad. She knew she realistically couldn't bring it with her, and she wouldn't need it in Auradon, but leaving it behind would be like leaving a piece of her.

"You could bring it." Jay offered, seeing her reaction as she stared down at her treasured weapon.

Gabby glanced back at him doubtfully. "I don't think they'd want a villain kid bringing a weapon to Auradon."

Jay shrugged. "The worse they can do is take it when you get there. But maybe they'd let you keep it as a…a memento or something. Hang it on the wall in your dorm or something."

Gabby smiled softly at him. "Thanks." she whispered, giving in.

With her bag of the very few items she was choosing to bring, her naginata, and Gingersnap perched on her shoulder, Gabby followed Jay from the building and through several alleys until they reached a familiar limo. There were a few adults dressed in matching yellow suits waiting for them. They nodded to Jay before getting into the limo. Jay gestured for Gabby to get in after them.

The leather seats were cool as Gabby scooted inside, setting her things on the floor by her feet. Gingersnap huddled against Gabby's neck silently, probably uncertain in this new environment. Jay scooted in after her and shut the door, and a few seconds later the car started moving.

Gabby surveyed the inside of the limo silently, trying not to feel awkward with the strange men sitting with them in the limo.

"Hey," Jay bumped her elbow with his before leaning forward and snagging something off the snack bar in the limo, "try this."

Gabby eyed the food in his hand dubiously. It was brown like mud. "What is it?" she asked warily.

Jay smirked. "Do you trust me?"

Gabby pursed her lips, glancing from Jay to the small item in his hand. Sighing in defeat, she took it in her fingers and slowly brought the food to her lips, trying to ignore Jay watching her closely.

As soon as the food touched Gabby's tongue, her eyes went wide, causing Jay to laugh. It was sweet and smooth and rich and the food started to melt in Gabby's mouth. Then, inside there was a salty, nutty tasting food that was rougher in texture, but the two balanced each other out deliciously.

"Oh my gosh." Gabby mumbled with her mouth full, covering it with her hand and staring up at Jay in shock. "What _is_ this?"

Jay laughed at her reaction. "That's how me and Carlos reacted when we ate those the first time. That's a peanut butter cup. Chocolate on the outside, peanut butter on the inside."

" _That's_ chocolate?" Gabby asked after swallowing. "Now I know why Mal loves those chocolate-covered strawberries so much." she admitted, making Jay laugh again.

Gabby was distracted by the barrier opening and stared out the window in amazement as they passed over the sea on a magical, golden bridge. Sure, she'd seen the bridge a couple times from a distance, but to be on it, it almost seemed like they were flying.

"So, you said Dizzy and Hadie got invited to Auradon?" Gabby asked, turning back to Jay when they reached the other side. Part of her wanted to just stare out the window and admire the bright colors and sunlight that she never saw on the Isle, but she also wanted to ask questions.

Jay nodded. "Yep. They probably said yes, I'm assuming, and will be brought over within the next couple days. Ben basically asked Evie for a list of kids to bring over. I figure they were picked because they're younger and still pretty innocent."

Gabby nodded, glad those two were the first. "Then why was I chosen?"

" _Maybe_ because I threatened to bring you over myself if Ben didn't do it?" Jay suggested playfully.

"You did _not_!" Gabby laughed, causing Jay to laugh as well.

"I kinda did, but that's not the only reason. Ben remembered you stepping in and fighting Gil for him, which I pointed out was you fighting your own _brother_ in Ben's defense. Plus, me and Evie both have kinda been singing your praises the last couple days."

Gabby blushed, glancing away in embarrassment. "And what kind of praises would those be?" she asked dubiously.

"You're nice, good, talented, you're a member of the Anti-Heroes, you've been helping people a lot-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Gabby laughed, her blush increasing both at Jay's compliments and the fact that she was very aware of the couriers listening in on them. "Anyway, is it just us three that the King's bringing over?"

"For now." Jay answered. "But he plans on bringing more over, and much sooner than it took to bring you guys over. He figured, Freddie's already in Auradon, so he'll bring you three over since there were four of us in the first group. He'll probably bring them over in similar-sized groups."

Gabby nodded in understanding. Four was a decent number, not too many to handle at once. It would be easier for the teachers and Jay and the others to help the new villain kids individually.

The drive passed fairly quickly, especially with Jay insisting Gabby try more of the candy in the limo. She drew the line at the rock candy. She didn't care how delicious the colors looked, she wasn't quite ready to eat rocks.

Finally, they pulled up to the amazing castle that Gabby had only ever seen pictures of. There was a small crowd standing out front as the limo pulled up, and Gabby's stomach clenched with nerves. Jay noticed her hands shaking, and without thinking, he placed his hand over hers, making her look at him.

"You'll be fine." he assured her gently. Gabby stared into his dark brown eyes and nodded slowly. She gave him a grateful smile as the limo pulled to a stop. Jay gave her hand one more squeeze before grabbing her things and getting out of the car. Gabby took a deep breath and followed him.

King Ben was standing front and center as she stepped out into the sunlight. Mal was standing next to him, her arm looped through his. Gabby noted she looked much happier than she had a few days ago, and much more like herself. She was wearing a casual, dark purple dress that went to her knees, and a black leather jacket with green designs. Her light purple hair was just slightly wavy apart from her straight bangs. Standing next to Mal was Evie, looking as elegant as ever, and on Ben's other side was Carlos and his dog.

Evie tried to maintain proper decorum as Ben's new Counselor, but her excitement got the better of her. She let out a quiet squeal and rushed to Gabby, giving her a tight hug. Gabby flinched in surprise before laughing and returning the hug excitedly.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so happy you're here!" Evie whispered excitedly, pulling back and holding Gabby's hands in her own. When she realized the others were chuckling at her, she stepped back. "Right. Sorry. I just got so excited." she admitted, moving to stand at Gabby's side, opposite of Jay.

"That's quite alright, Evie." Ben assured her with a warm smile, looking amused. "It's okay to be excited." Turning his attention to Gabby, Ben stepped forward and held out his hand. "It's nice to officially meet you, Gabby. I'm Ben."

Gabby shakily took his hand. "You, too. I'm Gabby. I mean, well, you already knew that. Clearly. Sorry." she stuttered, earning a couple chuckles from the group.

"It's fine." Ben assured her, his smile widening. But Gabby got the sense he wasn't laughing at her, he was just genuinely happy to have her there. Which was weird. She wasn't used to people being happy to have her around. "Jay and Evie both spoke highly of you, as did Carlos and Mal. And I know you took part in the fight against Uma's crew on the Isle, which I want to personally thank you for. You didn't have to do that."

Gabby shrugged awkwardly. "It was the right thing to do. I wanted to help."

Ben nodded, not looking the least bit surprised. "I figured, from what Jay told me about you."

Gabby glanced over at Jay, only to see him looking away and scratching the back of his neck.

Gingersnap made a throat-clearing sound from Gabby's shoulder, earning a few amused glances.

"Oh, um, this is my parrot, Gingersnap. I hope it's okay that I brought her. I couldn't leave her behind." Gabby explained, suddenly fearing they would demand she get rid of her faithful companion.

"It's perfectly fine. I'm sure Carlos could fill you in on the pets policy the school has. And you'll have to discuss it with your roommate. As long as she has no problem, you should be fine." Ben assured her. Gabby nodded in understanding. "You'll be rooming with Freddie Facilier. I hope that's okay. I believe you know her?"

Gabby nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Why can't she stay in our room?" a familiar voice asked, causing everyone to turn and look down at the dog sitting at Carlos's feet. "She could sleep in Jay's bed with him. What?" he asked when he saw their expressions. "She'd probably be more comfortable with that than sleeping with the creepy voodoo chick. Her and Jay used to sleep together under a shaky old shelf."

"Shut up, Dude." Jay ordered, his voice tight with anger and discomfort. Mal, Evie, and Carlos knew about his and Gabby's old sleeping arrangements, but Ben certainly didn't. Jay glared at Carlos, who put his hands up innocently.

"Don't look at me! I didn't tell him that." Carlos defended himself.

"Duh. People don't think anything of what they say in front of dogs." Dude informed them casually. "Jay's mentioned it a few times in front of me. I've also heard him say Gabby's name in his sleep."

"Okay! That's enough. Next topic." Jay ordered as everyone gave him surprised and amused glances. "And another word out of you, I'm getting a rolled up newspaper." he added sternly to the little dog.

"Try it and I'll leave a little _gift_ in your shoes." Dude countered easily, causing several people to laugh or snort.

Gabby covered her own mouth with her hand. She wasn't sure if she should feel amused or embarrassed. The King of Auradon now knew her and Jay used to sleep under a shelf together. And why was Jay saying her name in his sleep?

"Anyway," Ben continued, trying to get the conversation back on track, "Evie and Jay have volunteered to be your official guides to show you around campus, but feel free to ask any of us if you have any questions. Okay?"

Gabby nodded with a smile. "Okay. Thank you."

"I have some stuff for you right here." Evie told her, holding up a blue folder. "It has your locker information, your dorm room information, and information on any classes you might be placed in. There's a backpack and school supplies waiting for you in your dorm, and I'm going to be designing and making some new outfits for you, and no you can't argue with me."

Gabby laughed slightly. "I kinda figured. You're a little stubborn."

"A little?" Mal joked.

Jay cleared his throat. "Ben, is Gabby allowed to keep this?" he asked, holding up her naginata. "She made it."

Ben looked at it doubtfully. "Well,…I'm not sure. We don't allow weapons on campus. I'll speak to Fairy Godmother about it. Is it important to you?" he asked Gabby.

"Well,…I made it because I needed to defend myself back on the Isle." Gabby admitted uncertainly. "But I don't really need it here, I guess. I think it's more…sentimental. But I don't need to keep it."

Ben nodded. "I'll talk to Fairy Godmother about it. For now, I'll leave you with these guys. Unfortunately, Mal and I have some things we need to take care of. But remember, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me anything you need to."

Gabby nodded, and Ben and Mal turned and walked away.

"Well, let's go find your dorm." Jay suggested, pulling her bag over his shoulder and leading the way toward the castle. Gabby, Evie, and Carlos followed him. Gabby admired the statue of the former King Adam as they passed it on their way to the front doors. In fact, she admired everything she saw; the colorful flowers, green shrubs, blue skies, fresh air. Even the bricks of the castle looked clean and smooth, unlike the dilapidated brick buildings on the Isle.

As they neared the front doors of the castle, they crossed paths with a young couple of teenagers. The girl was latched onto the boy's arm and giggling loudly at something he said. She was dressed in a short, pale pink and blue dress, her brown hair perfectly curled. He had wavy blonde hair and was dressed in a pale blue sweater over a yellow button up shirt.

They paused when they caught sight of the other group of teenagers.

"Audrey." Evie greeted the other girl with a small, polite smile. "How was your vacation?"

"It was wonderful." Audrey gushed. "But I was so sad to miss Cotillion. If it wasn't for Chad, who knows how long I would have been stranded on the side of that road, though." Audrey sighed and fluttered her eyelashes up at Chad, who puffed out his chest.

"How'd you fix the flat tire?" Carlos asked curiously, seriously doubting Chad could have done it himself.

"Well," Chad chuckled slightly, "I just called the nearest tow truck and kept my lovely girlfriend company while we waited."

Gabby glanced curiously up at Jay, who rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you two are back together then?" Evie asked.

"Of course we are." Audrey answered, looking slightly defensive as she narrowed her eyes in Evie's direction. "We were never really broken up. You can't break up true love." she gushed, leaning against Chad's shoulder and smiling up at him.

Gabby glanced at Evie, who looked like she didn't believe anything this Audrey girl said.

"So, who's this?" Chad asked, looking over Gabby curiously. Audrey did the same, and Gabby didn't like how the other girl's nose wrinkled as if she saw something rotten.

"This is Gabby. She's a friend of ours from the Isle." Evie explained with a smile.

"Another one?" Audrey asked with a grimace. "Didn't the catastrophe at Cotillion with that other girl teach Ben nothing? Villain kids can't be trusted."

Carlos cleared his throat. "You realize who you're talking to, right?"

"Well, you four tried to steal the wand." Audrey pointed out.

"Who's your villain parent?" Chad asked, still curiously looking at Gabby, who was shifting her feet awkwardly.

Gabby paused, unsure if she wanted or needed to answer. She glanced at Jay, wondering what to do or say. Jay met her eyes for a moment before looking back at Chad and Audrey.

"That isn't important. Her parents haven't been around for a while." Jay told them briefly. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're taking Gabby to her dorm and then giving her a tour."

With that, Jay moved past Chad and Audrey, leading the others into the castle.

"They seemed…" Gabby trailed off, unsure of what to say. Nice? Different? Interesting?

"Yeah, that was Chad and Audrey." Carlos explained. "Chad's the son of Cinderella, and Audrey's the daughter of Aurora. They have their moments, but they aren't always very nice."

"And that Chad guy keeps breaking into our room." Dude announced as he trotted along at Carlos's side. "If he does that again tonight, I'm biting his pants."

Everyone chuckled. Gabby was starting to really like this little dog, though she still had one question about him.

"Carlos, how is your dog talking?" she asked curiously.

"Well,…I'd asked Mal to make this truth gummy. Like, if I ate it I would only be able to tell the truth all the time."

"Why would you want to eat something like that?" Gabby asked, completely confused.

Jay laughed. "He was trying to ask a girl out."

Carlos blushed. "Shut up. Anyway, before I could eat the gummy, Dude ate it. And now he talks."

"Which makes me smarter than your bird." Dude added, looking up at Gingersnap perched on Gabby's shoulder. Gingersnap responded with a farting sound.

"Dog breath." she muttered, making Gabby chuckle and scratch the bird's head.

They went up staircases and through hallways, which Jay explained were the dorms. The boys' dorms were on the opposite side of the building, which Jay said he could show her after dropping her things off in her dorm.

"This is mine and Mal's dorm." Evie explained as they passed another door. All the doors pretty much looked exactly the same apart from the room numbers. Evie and Mal's door had a sign that said "Evie's 4 Hearts" with a sparkly picture of a red heart wearing a gold crown. At least that would be easy to remember. "You're room with Freddie is right next door." Evie added as they moved down to the next door. She knocked on the door before pushing it open.

Freddie was lounging on one of the beds, dressed in a red and purple outfit, her small, purple hat sitting crooked on her head as she skimmed a large book propped on her legs. She looked up when they entered.

"Well, look who showed up." she greeted playfully, closing her book with a thump.

Gabby didn't respond, too distracted looking around the room with her mouth hanging open.

The room was large, with wooden walls and floors, but the floor was mostly covered by a large, light blue rug with black and white designs. Most of the room was New Orleans or voodoo themed, without being creepy. The windows were covered with purple curtains with little gold designs. There were New Orleans themed paintings on the walls. There was a tiny voodoo head hanging from Freddie's bedpost. Freddie's bed had a purple blanket, and the other bed had a red blanket with a red backpack sitting on it. Across the room was a large fireplace with a flat screen TV on the wall above it.

Gabby took it all in with her mouth open until someone tapped her chin with their finger. She closed her mouth and turned to look up at Jay with wide eyes, making him laugh.

"I take it you like the room? Or all the voodoo heads creep you out." Jay joked.

"I was here first. The voodoo dolls stay." Freddie announced, cuddling a small, pale voodoo doll to her chest.

Gabby huffed a small laugh. "They're fine. I was just…in shock. This room…I can stay here?"

"Yep." Evie chirped before giggling. "You're lucky. When Mal and I first came, our dorm was all pink, white, and frilly. Mal hated it. But Freddie's pretty much got this place all set up already."

Gabby nodded. She might make a few changes after a while, but she was perfectly fine with how Freddie decorated the room. Even the colors were cool, mostly red with purple, blue, and gold. There really wasn't much in the color scheme she felt the need to change.

"Well, do you want to hang out here and get settled in first, or do you want to leave your stuff here so we can give you the grand tour?" Jay asked. "Dinner will be soon, and your first day of school is tomorrow."

Carlos laughed. "Jay was useless in class today, waiting to go pick you up."

Jay punched him in the shoulder.

Gabby chuckled before taking her things from Jay and putting them on her bed. She hesitated before stuffing her naginata under her bed. She wasn't sure what to do with it, but she figured she should put it somewhere safe or hidden.

"You can grab that backpack." Jay suggested, nodding to the backpack sitting on the bed. "That's your school stuff. We can stop by your school locker and put them away."

Gabby tilted her head slightly. "Am I allowed to go to school?" she asked. "I mean, the most education I've really had was being home schooled by my mom."

"We explained all that to Ben already." Evie explained, handing her the folder she'd been carrying. "So, tomorrow morning Fairy Godmother is going to give you some short quizzes to see where you're at education-wise. It's no pressure or anything, it's just to decide where to place you in classes."

Gabby nodded. "Okay, that doesn't sound too bad, I suppose." she admitted, though she was still a little nervous.

"Well, grab your bag. We'll show you around." Jay told her, turning back toward the door.

"You coming, Freddie?" Carlos asked while Gabby grabbed her backpack.

"Nah. I'll meet you guys down there for dinner." Freddie waved them off.

They retraced their steps through the dorms until they returned to the main lobby, but instead of going out the front doors, Jay made a quick detour through the boys' dorms to show Gabby where him and Carlos's dorm was if she ever needed to know. She was sure she'd never remember how to find it later on her own. Then they headed outside toward the school.

The lockers were blue and on the outside of the school. They all looked the same, so Gabby tried to think of a way to burn her locker number into memory. Then it was made clear she would also need to remember her locker combination to actually open it.

It took a few attempts before she actually got the door open, which Evie assured her was normal. She struggled with her own locker when they first arrived. Jay simply broke into his locker until he figured it out. After dropping her school things inside, Jay and Carlos lead the way through the now-empty school, showing her where the most important things were.

"Since we don't know what classes you're going to be taking yet, we can't exactly show you where your classes are." Carlos pointed out. "But you'll for sure be taking Remedial Goodness, which is in the back of the library."

They wandered through the school, and Jay, Carlos, and Evie showed Gabby where all the important rooms were, and where she would probably be having classes. They then showed her the gym, and the amphitheatre, which was attached to it.

"This is where the R.O.A.R team practices." Jay explained as they entered the giant, circular amphitheatre decorated with blue and yellow boxes. "We had practice after school today, but I was exempt so I could pick you up. How was practice, anyway?" he asked Carlos.

"Good. Chad tried giving Lonnie attitude, but she handled him pretty well." Carlos answered.

"Wait, I thought you were the Captain." Gabby said, confused. "How could you not be at practice if you're Captain?"

"I'm not Captain anymore." Jay answered with a casual shrug.

"Someone beat you?" Gabby guessed in shock.

"Not exactly." a new voice answered, causing them all to turn. The girl Gabby sort of met on the Isle, Lonnie, approached them in a blue and pink workout outfit, her hair in a ponytail. "Hi, you must be Gabby! I'm Lonnie. We never officially met back on the Isle." she greeted her with a wide smile, offering her hand.

Gabby shook it hesitantly with a small smile of her own. "Nice to meet you. So, you're the new Captain?" she guessed, not at all surprised when she thought about it. She'd seen Lonnie take on two pirates at once.

"Yep." Lonnie beamed proudly. "But it's not technically because I beat Jay." she admitted. "The rules to join the team are archaic. The rules state that 'a team shall be comprised of a Captain and eight men'." she quoted mockingly.

"Oh, so you got around the rule." Gabby guessed, glancing at Jay. "She's Captain, and the rest of the team is eight men?"

Jay nodded with a small smirk. "Yep. It was implied no girls allowed, but we worked around the wording. It never said the Captain had to be a guy."

"And _you_ came up with that?" Gabby asked, playfully implying she didn't think he was that smart. Jay responded by pulling her head under his arm and giving her a noogie. Everyone laughed while Gabby tried and failed to get herself free. Finally Jay let her go, and she shoved at his arm in retribution.

"It's a step in the right direction," Lonnie continued their conversation, "but it's still too bad all girls can't have a chance on the team yet. You'd be a great addition. I saw you fighting with that naginata at the docks. You were amazing!"

Gabby blushed, looking down at her feet. "Thanks. I had to teach myself some kind of self-defense, or I'd never have survived out there."

"You taught _yourself_ to fight like that? Even more impressive. Everything I know I learned from my parents and brother." Lonnie told her.

"Hey, Lon, while you're here, I've been meaning to ask you a favor." Jay spoke up. "They're having that Club Fair this Friday in the gym, and Coach Jenkins wanted me to host the tourney booth. As the new Captain, could you host the R.O.A.R booth?" he asked with a grin.

Lonnie beamed. "Sure! I'd love to!"

They talked with Lonnie for a few more minutes before heading out to the cafeteria. Gabby's eyes were wide as she looked around at all the different choices of fresh food. She wasn't sure what all to pick, but Jay ended up piling way more than she needed onto her tray.

"I'm never going to eat all this." she informed him as they carried their trays outside toward several picnic tables.

"You need to at least try all that. Trust me. And I can eat whatever you don't." he added with a smirk.

Carlos lead the way toward a table where Mal was sitting with a couple other people. Carlos sat next to a pretty girl with dark brown hair dressed in a blue dress. She lit up when she saw him, then blushed slightly before her blue eyes landed on Gabby and the others.

"Jane, this is Gabby." Carlos introduced them. "Gabby, this is Jane; my girlfriend." he added proudly, making Jane's blush darken, but her smile widened.

"It's nice to meet you." Jane told her with a kind smile. "Carlos has told me a lot about you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Gabby returned the smile easily. This girl was very easygoing and Gabby was instantly comfortable around her.

"And this is Doug, my boyfriend." Evie announced from where she'd taken her seat next to another teenage boy at the table. He wasn't someone Gabby would've imagined Evie being with, considering how obsessed she used to be with finding a prince. Doug had brown hair and was wearing glasses, a blue shirt with a green bowtie, and suspenders. Basically, he looked like your typical nerd, but he was very nice and looked at Evie like she was his whole world. It was honestly adorable.

"It's nice to meet you." Doug smiled at her, holding Evie's hand atop the table. "Are Evie and the guys giving you the grand tour?"

Gabby nodded as she sat between Jay and Mal. "Yeah, they are. And it's even nicer than I thought it would be, which is saying something." she admitted quietly, feeling shy at suddenly being the center of the table's attention. Luckily, the conversation quieted as everyone began eating their food. Gabby was beyond shocked by how different the food was. The bread of her sandwich was fresh and soft instead of stale. Her apple was crisp and juicy. Her milk was smooth and not curdled. She knew the Isle only got the rotten food and leftovers, but she'd never imagined it being this different.

"Yo, Jay!" a guy called as they were almost finished eating. As predicted, Gabby hadn't been able to eat even half of her food, but Jay, as promised, helped her eat it all under the guise of being 'a growing boy'.

Jay turned around and Gabby followed his gaze to see a few guys approaching them. The one in front resembled Jay enough that it was fairly easy for Gabby to guess who he was before he reached them.

The guys fist bumped Jay before the guy in front grinned at Gabby.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced." he told her. "I'm Aziz. Nice to meet you." he told her, offering his hand. Instead of shaking it when Gabby placed her hand in his, he lifted it and kissed her knuckles. Gabby's face turned bright red at the gesture.

"Turn down the charm, Aziz." a second boy laughed. "You're going to make her face catch fire."

"Back off, guys." Jay told them, shoving Aziz's shoulder when he released Gabby's hand. "This is Gabby."

"Ah, so you're the girl Jay's been keeping to himself." the second boy commented, making Jay reach up and punch his shoulder. He ducked away, laughing, before shaking Gabby's hand. "I'm Tyrone. Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Herkie." the third boy greeted her, taking Tyrone's place. "Ignore these idiots. They've got egos the size of Auradon, and they enjoy picking on Jay."

All three boys looked fairly different. Aziz had tan skin, black hair, and brown eyes, and Gabby already knew he was the son of Aladdin from seeing him on TV. Tyrone had darker skin, curly, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. Finally, Herkie was huge. Gabby guessed his arms were about as big around as her head, and he had curly, auburn hair, sun-kissed skin, and blue eyes.

Gabby laughed quietly at Herkie's comment, glancing at Jay, who rolled his eyes.

"How're you liking Auradon so far?" Herkie asked her.

"I like it a lot." she answered vaguely, unsure how much to say to people here. It wasn't like the Isle. Admitting she'd always wanted to come here wouldn't make her seem weak, right? Either way, she didn't add anything.

"Are you one of the pirates Jay and the others had to fight?" Tyrone asked curiously.

"No." Gabby answered slowly. "I fought the pirates with them."

"I only asked because you have a parrot on your shoulder, like some pirates." Tyrone explained, nodding to Gingersnap perched on Gabby's shoulder.

"Oh, no I'm not a pirate. I got Gingersnap when I was little." Gabby explained briefly.

"Gingersnap, huh? Where'd she get the name?" Herkie asked as Tyrone held his finger out toward the bird. Gingersnap responded by snapping her beak at him. Tyrone barely jerked his finger away in time, making the others laugh.

" _That's_ where she got the name." Gabby admitted, trying not to laugh. "She has a bit of an attitude."

"I can see that." Tyrone answered, his eyes wide.

"Are you single?" Aziz asked suddenly, a glint in his eyes and grin on his face.

"Dude, it's her first day here, leave her alone." Herkie shook his head, smirking. Gabby hadn't even understood Aziz's question. Single? Single what? As opposed to double?

Gabby glanced uncertainly at Jay, who was glaring lightly up at Aziz.

"She's off limits, _your highness_." Jay informed him sarcastically.

"Oh?" Tyrone propped his elbow on Aziz's shoulder, both boys smirking playfully down at Jay. "Why? Did you call dibs?"

Jay abruptly stood up and both boys turned and ran off, laughing hysterically. Herkie shook his head and followed more slowly. Gabby watched Jay as he returned to his seat, shaking his head with a tiny grin on his face, though he looked partially annoyed.

"What was that about?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't understand the last part of the conversation. Were those boys being mean to her without her realizing it? Were they like Chad and Audrey and enjoyed being mean to villain kids? "Do you not like them?"

"Huh?" Jay turned and looked at her. "Oh, no, they're cool. They're great guys, actually. I'm on the tourney and R.O.A.R teams with them."

Gabby still felt confused. The conversation with them had been weird. "But…what were they talking about? Asking if I was single; what did that mean?"

"You don't know what that means?" Doug asked from his seat.

"We don't date on the Isle, remember?" Evie reminded him before turning to Gabby. "Aziz was asking if you had a boyfriend or not." she told her gently.

Gabby's eyes widened. "Oh." She wasn't sure what to think of that. Were guys in Auradon just like the guys on the Isle, only thinking disgusting and inappropriate things about her?

Jay watched her face and seemed to guess what she was thinking. "Aziz and Tyrone will probably flirt with you a lot, but they would never hurt you. They're good guys. I promise."

Gabby looked back at him and smiled shyly. "Okay." she whispered. "Thanks."

Evie suddenly gasped, slapping her hands to the tabletop and making everyone at the table jump.

"What the heck, E?" Mal asked, her wide eyes fixed on her best friend.

"I just thought of a great idea! Gabby, would you want a job?" Evie asked excitedly.

Gabby's own eyes were wide as well. "Um, job?" she repeated, trying to catch up to Evie's thought process.

"I have my own business, remember?" Evie checked. "Evie's 4 Hearts. I design and sell clothes to people."

"But I can't really design." Gabby pointed out. "At least, not like you."

"No, but you can follow patterns and sew. It wouldn't be a lot of work most of the time. I made almost everyone on campus dresses for Cotillion, and it honestly would've been great to have someone to help with the sewing part. But most of the time, I don't have that many orders, so it wouldn't be that much work most of the time. Would you at least consider it? Pretty please?" Evie begged, clasping her hands together.

Gabby laughed slightly at her pleading expression. "Well,…okay, I'll think about it. But I at least want to get used to being here before I decide."

"Of course." Evie agreed instantly. "Take all the time you need. Like I said, I probably won't get very many orders most of the time."

"It would be a good way to have some extra money." Doug pointed out. "I help Evie with the money and accounting part of the business, so I know she has more than enough to pay another employee." he added, jokingly glancing at his girlfriend. Evie rolled her eyes playfully before laying her head on his shoulder.

Gabby stayed out at the picnic table talking with the others as the sun started to sink on the horizon. She was introduced to several more people who stopped by to chat; including Ruby and Anxelin, Rapunzel's blonde daughters; Pin, the son of Pinocchio; and Arabella, Ariel's red-haired niece.

It was dark by the time they all headed back toward the dorms. Gabby was sure she'd get lost wandering the campus alone, especially at night, and couldn't imagine ever being able to find her way. The guys and girls split up to go to their respective gender's dorms; except for Jay, who insisted on walking Gabby to her dorm.

"You didn't have to walk me all the way here." Gabby told him for the fourth time as they reached her door. "Evie's dorm is right next to mine, and we walked the whole way with her."

"Yeah, I know." Jay admitted. "Just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay. How was your first day in Auradon?"

Gabby grinned as she pushed her door open. "It was…probably the best day ever." she answered honestly.

Jay grinned, following her into the room. Freddie hadn't returned from dinner yet, so they were alone. Jay flipped the light switch by the door, flooding the room with a soft light. Gingersnap flew to perch on the headboard of Gabby's new bed while Gabby approached her bed where her bag of minimal belongings still sat. There were two different dressers, one on each side of the door. Gabby assumed the one closest to Freddie's bed was Freddie's, while the farthest one was supposed to be Gabby's.

Sitting slowly onto the edge of the bed, Gabby paused before letting herself sink down onto the soft mattress. All tenseness left her muscles as she slowly laid onto her back, sighing in relief.

"Whoa." she muttered, her eyes closed as she sprawled back on her new bed. "It's like sleeping on a cloud."

Jay laughed. "Yeah, that's what me and Carlos thought. Way better than a patched up beanbag, huh?"

"And a hard floor." Gabby agreed, turning her head and forcing her eyes open so she could smile across the room at him. "Thanks."

Jay shook his head, his grin shrinking slightly. "Stop thanking me. This should have happened months ago."

Gabby shrugged, her arms still stretched out. "Can't change the past. We just need to move forward."

Jay nodded. "I suppose so."

Gabby struggled to sit up, her tired body too heavy, which made Jay laugh. Finally managing it, Gabby sat on the edge of her bed and looked at him.

"So,…I start school tomorrow, right?" Gabby asked uncertainly.

Jay nodded. "Yeah, I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning about…7:30 for breakfast. Then Fairy Godmother wants you to be in the Remedial Goodness classroom in the library to give you those quizzes. Everything else will be figured out later, I guess."

Gabby nodded in understanding and silence fell over the room. Gabby glanced over at Jay, who now appeared awkward standing in the doorway. He glanced around the room before he met her eyes. He stared at her for a long moment, and Gabby wasn't sure what she saw in his eyes. Finally, he opened his mouth to say something, and for some reason, Gabby was extremely eager to hear what he was going to say.

Unfortunately, Jay was pushed from behind.

"Excuse me. Am I allowed to enter my own room?" Freddie asked rhetorically, pushing her way into the room and heading straight toward her bed.

Jay sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Well, um, I guess I'll get going. I'll see you in the morning, Gabby."

Gabby nodded with a smile. "Right. 7:30."

Jay nodded with a small grin. "Right. Goodnight, Gabby."

Gabby's smile softened shyly. "Night, Jay."


	22. Chapter 22

**Ch 22 (Still 2015)**

Tuesday was an earlier morning for Gabby than she was used to. She left Gingersnap in her dorm, having set up a little space for her in the corner with small bowls of food and water, and newspaper in case she needed to do her business. She seemed happy to have the whole bedpost for a perch.

Gabby ate breakfast with Jay and the others before Jay walked her to the library. Fairy Godmother was extremely peppy and cheerful, which threw Gabby off at first. She wasn't used to so much obvious happiness in one body. The quizzes she gave Gabby weren't difficult so much as long, taking them all one after the other. They were mostly over basic subjects like math, science, and history. There was also a list of elective class subjects Gabby looked at, which Fairy Godmother had her check off some classes she would like to take. It was almost lunch by the time Gabby finished the last quiz, and Fairy Godmother told her she'd go over the scores during lunch and give her a new class schedule after lunch.

When Gabby left the library, Jay was waiting for her in the hall.

"Hey. How'd it go?" he asked, turning and walking at her side toward the cafeteria.

"Pretty good, I suppose. Though science is definitely not my strong suit." Gabby admitted.

"Evie could tutor you. She's a science whiz." Jay told her.

"Well, that's a relief." Gabby sighed. "I haven't done anything science-related since…probably since I was eight." she admitted, thinking back to when her mother would sit her down at the tiny kitchen table and teach her basic education. They'd only done a couple years worth of science, though. She'd focused mostly on math, English, and history.

Jay glanced down at her, noting how her face fell a bit, probably remembering when her mom died when she was eight.

"So, did Fairy Godmother say when she'd get your results back?" Jay asked, partially to distract her.

Gabby nodded. "She said to go back to the library after lunch, and she'd have the results by then, and will give me my new class schedule." Gabby answered, though she was slightly distracted as they passed through the halls. People were turning to stare at her and Jay as they passed. Gabby wondered if it was her clothes. She was wearing a red and black leather jacket, ripped red and black skinny jeans, and black combat boots. Very different clothes compared to all the other girls in Auradon Prep. All the girls were wearing dresses or skirts, but she wasn't sure she wanted to wear dresses all the time. Occasionally was one thing, but not everyday. "When do you think Evie will have some new clothes for me?" she asked Jay quietly as they passed a group of giggling girls.

Jay shrugged. "Soon, I'd guess. She's been eagerly designing clothes for you since Ben gave us the 'okay' to bring you over."

"And…what is it?" she asked warily. Not that she didn't trust Evie's artistic genius, she just hoped Evie made a variety of clothes and not just all dresses or something. Gabby couldn't exactly afford to go buy herself clothes, and she didn't have the talent to design her own.

Jay laughed. "I don't know, it's clothes. I don't pay attention to all that."

Gabby eyed him dubiously as he waved to all the flirty girls that called his name. "You don't pay attention to the clothes, just the girls in them?" she asked lightly.

Jay smirked down at her. "Depends on the clothes." he joked, making Gabby snort and look away.

They passed through the cafeteria, picking up food while in line, before heading out to the courtyard where they joined Carlos and Jane at a picnic table. They talked while they ate. Gabby wasn't used to people asking about her, but she knew Carlos, and Jane seemed very nice. They mostly only talked about how the day was going so far.

Gabby was in the middle of taking a bite of the roast beef sandwich she got for lunch when Evie came hurrying over, looking excited. Gabby paused with her mouth full, expecting Evie to say something about her clothes.

"Gabby! I just had a great idea." Evie told her excitedly. "Okay, so, Ben made me his counselor to basically give him a list of kids to bring over from the Isle, and I figured you've lived there more recently, so you'd have a better idea of who should be brought over. So, do you think you could help me write a list for Ben sometime?"

Gabby swallowed her bite and nodded. "Yeah, I'd be happy to. I've already got several people in mind. Too bad we can't bring more people over sooner, the Isle is still a crappy place to live, and it'll only get worse as all the decent people come over here."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Good grief. Why don't you two just make it into a whole organization or club or something? Bring people over and send fresh food."

Gabby and Evie stared at Jay for a moment before looking at each other, their eyes widening slightly as they got the same idea.

"Jay, you're a _genius_!" Evie exclaimed.

Jay blinked. "I am?"

Carlos laughed. "That's a first."

"We could try and come up with all kinds of ideas that could help the people who are still living on the Isle." Evie went on, focusing on Gabby.

"Hermie started a garden on her roof on the Isle. Maybe we could somehow teach people over there to grow their own food?" Gabby suggested.

"And my business is successful. I could use it as a platform of sorts." Evie went on thoughtfully. "Maybe I could donate some of my profits to buying new food and clothes to send to the Isle. Or for every item bought, one is sent to the Isle for someone who needs it."

"That's brilliant." Gabby grinned. "But there are plenty of rich people in Auradon, and even people who aren't rich could help somehow. Maybe other people would be willing to donate things. Even things that are used, but still in better shape than the garbage that's usually sent."

"We have to go talk to Ben about this." Evie insisted, tugging on Gabby's arm and almost pulling her right off the bench.

"Whoa! Evie, I'm eating!" Gabby laughed. "And I'm sure King Ben is eating, too, or something. And I need to go back to the library soon. And shouldn't we make…I don't know, an official presentation, since he's the King?" she asked uncertainly.

"Oh, Ben's not like that." Evie waved her off. "He's very friendly and open. But I suppose you have a point. I have to get to class soon, too. Okay, how about this? Meet me in my dorm around 4:00 this afternoon, after classes and everything. We can write down all our ideas and come up with a good way to present them to Ben, maybe tomorrow or something. I'll talk to him and find out a good time to see him. I'll let you know later, okay?"

Gabby nodded, trying to take in all the things Evie just said in the span of a few seconds. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you at four."

"Great, see you later." Evie grinned, leaning down and hugging Gabby tightly. "Bye guys!" she called as she hurried away.

Gabby blinked rapidly before turning to the others. "Someone needs to cut off her supply of caffeine."

Carlos laughed. "She's been extremely hyper since Cotillion, mostly because she's, like, on cloud nine bringing you guys over. I can only _imagine_ how excited she'll be when Dizzy gets here."

Jay was just shaking his head, staring off after Evie. "I was just joking. How did you guys come up with all that in a few seconds, because I made a joke?"

Twenty minutes later, Jay dropped Gabby off at the library, where Fairy Godmother was waiting in the back classroom where Remedial Goodness was held. Fairy Godmother was looking at a laptop on the podium up on the small stage. When Gabby entered and set her bag on the front desk, Fairy Godmother looked up and beamed at her.

"Gabby, perfect timing." she told her cheerfully. "I was just looking over your scores."

Fairy Godmother pulled another chair up to a desk, and they both sat on it to look at the computer screen. Fairy Godmother showed Gabby her scores, and they went over her options. Apparently, Gabby did pretty average, for the most part. Fairy Godmother was impressed with how well she did on the math and history sections.

"King Ben told me you were home schooled while on the Isle?" she urged curiously.

"Um, yeah, but that was a long time ago." Gabby admitted quietly. "My mom home schooled me until I was eight."

"Why did she stop? Was she not qualified to teach you after that age?"

"Um,…she died." Gabby admitted quietly, unsure how much Jay had told Ben, or anyone else, about her.

Fairy Godmother stared at her with wide eyes, her mouth open before she looked down. "Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine." Gabby told her briskly. "It was a long time ago. And I was lucky to have at least one parent that loved me. Most kids over there don't. But anyway, my mom home schooled me in secret because my dad didn't believe in girls being educated, so he kept me out of school."

"I see." Fairy Godmother nodded, looking back at the computer screen. Thankfully, she moved back onto the topic of Gabby's schedule. They went over the possible classes and what time period they were. It wasn't long before they had a schedule figured out, which Fairy Godmother printed out and handed to Gabby to have. She then got Gabby all the school books she would need for her new classes. She sent her on her way, advising Gabby at least look through them before she started classes the next morning.

So, that's what Gabby did for most of the afternoon. She sat on her new bed, Gingersnap perched on her shoulder, while she skimmed through her new school books. She was entranced with her Enchanted Forestry textbook when someone knocked on her door. Looking up, Gabby saw the door creak open so Evie could poke her head in.

"Hi. It's after four." she reminded her.

"Oh!" Gabby looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was about ten minutes after. "Sorry. Fairy Godmother got me these books for class, and I guess I lost track of time."

"That's fine. Come next door whenever you're ready." Evie told her with a smile.

Gabby closed her book and dropped it on her bed. Putting her shoes back on, she hurried from the room after Evie. She followed her into her dorm, seeing Mal on the farthest bed in the dorm.

Mal looked up, brushing her purple bangs out of her eyes. Her purple hair was slightly wavy, too lazy to bother straightening it everyday. "Hey. How're you liking it here so far?"

"It's been great so far." Gabby answered, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, I wrote down all the ideas we came up with at lunch." Evie told her, pulling out a notebook and looking down at it. "I also added that we could use Dizzy's designing in a way similar to mine. We'd have to discuss it with her, of course."

"I bet she'd love that." Gabby agreed. "I also had another idea…" she went on hesitantly. "It's just…people on the Isle have no way to communicate over here, but that's…a disadvantage. Like when my mom was sick, there was no one I could get to help me. Maybe if I could have contacted Auradon I could have found someone to help me."

Evie nodded seriously. It was rare that Gabby opened up and talked about her past, especially her mom.

"Okay, so…some way of communication between the Isle and Auradon." Evie repeated, writing it down on the list.

"You'd just have to be careful." Mal pointed out, always the realist. "Lots of people would abuse that on the Isle. Like, make stuff up to get someone from Auradon over there."

"Right." Evie agreed, making note of that as well.

"We could get Yen Sid involved in it." Gabby suggested. "Like he could check out any calls to make sure they're authentic. I bet he'd be willing to do it."

Evie nodded again, writing it down.

Gabby and Evie brainstormed for another half an hour, with Mal making suggestions while working on homework on her bed, until they'd added a few more ideas to the list.

"I think that's a good start." Evie decided, looking down at the list with a proud smile. "Oh, I spoke to Ben earlier when he dropped Mal off at our room." Evie added, looking over at Gabby, who'd sat down on Evie's bed. "He says he's got a free hour tomorrow afternoon between school and a council meeting. So, meet me here after classes tomorrow, and we can go to his office around 3:45."

Gabby nodded. "Okay, sure." she agreed, trying not to be nervous about meeting with the King. He'd seemed nice enough when they met, but he was still the King. And her father did try to murder his father.

"Oh!" Evie hopped off her bed and hurried across the room, Gabby and Mal both watched her curiously. On the other side of the room, Gabby hadn't noticed the small rack of clothes in the corner, which Evie wheeled toward the center of the room. "I just finished some outfits for you." Evie told her eagerly. "There's some casual, and some nice outfits. I recommend wearing one of these tomorrow, if you want to look nice when we meet with Ben. Or you can change between school and the meeting. Totally up to you." Evie told her, pulling a couple outfits off the rack and showing Gabby. Getting up from the bed, Gabby approached the rack and searched through them with a smile.

"They're perfect, Evie." she grinned. Like she'd hoped, Evie hadn't designed all dresses and skirts. There were a few shirts and pants as well.

"I'm working on a few more, but they aren't quite done yet." Evie confessed.

"Evie," Gabby laughed, "it's only been, what, three days since the King agreed to bring me over here? This is like, two outfits a day. I don't know where you find the time to design and make this many outfits so quickly."

"On top of school and her eight hours of beauty sleep a night." Mal added without even looking up from her homework, making the other two girls laugh.

"Well, when I'm inspired I can design quickly." Evie pointed out lightly.

Gabby gave her an amused, doubtful look. "And _I_ inspire you?" she asked dubiously.

"Immensely." Evie agreed lightly, putting the clothes back on the rack. "Come on. Let's wheel this over to your room and we can put your new wardrobe away for tomorrow."

*~0~*

Gabby stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long time, wondering if she really looked okay, or if she just looked so different that she thought she looked nice.

"You're going to miss breakfast if you keep staring at yourself." Freddie told her as she left the dorm, having practically rolled out of bed, thrown on a random outfit, and still looked cool. Gabby grabbed her backpack and hurried after her. They went through the cafeteria like every morning, grabbed their food, and joined the others at a table outside.

"Whoa." Carlos said when she sat down with them. "You look nice. Good job, Evie."

Evie waved him off. "I did nothing. Gabby's just naturally beautiful."

Gabby blushed at her tray. "I wouldn't go that far." she muttered shyly.

Feeling the burn of eyes on her, she looked over at Jay, who she was sitting next to. He was staring at her. When their eyes met, he grinned slightly.

"No, you do look nice." he told her quietly, making her blush more.

She'd picked out a dress with red and black patterns. It had wide straps, was fitted around her body, then flared out at the waist, and went to mid-thigh. Over it, she wore a cropped, black leather jacket. On her hands were new black, leather fingerless gloves with silver zippers on the back of her hand, and on her feet were black ankle boots. Her black and red hair was simply straightened, and she'd pulled the top part into a mini ponytail, mostly to keep her hair out of her eyes.

"Thanks." Gabby whispered, picking at her food shyly before taking a bite.

Evie and Carlos looked back and forth between Gabby and Jay before looking at each other and sharing a knowing grin.

After breakfast, the others helped Gabby find her classes. Thankfully, she had at least one of them in all her classes, and all of them had Remedial Goodness together, along with Freddie. Of course, Fairy Godmother gave the original four villain kids more advanced lessons, but it wasn't worth having a second class just for Gabby and Freddie. Carlos told Gabby that he figured they'd add a second class after more villain kids came over, maybe in a few months depending on how long it took Ben and the council to agree.

After classes, Gabby hurried back to her dorm, where she met up with Evie before they headed back across the castle. Evie lead the way, knowing where the King's office was. Gabby nervously fiddled with her fingerless gloves, while Evie walked along confidently with a folder in one arm, dressed in a navy blue dress and black pumps, her blue hair perfectly curled as usual.

"Okay, this is his office." Evie announced when they finally reached a door.

Gabby took a deep breath, but her nerves were swirling in her stomach, making her nauseous.

"It'll be fine." Evie assured her with a smile. "Ben's not someone to be scared of. He'll probably love all our ideas."

Gabby nodded, taking another breath. "Yeah, I know. You've said that. Many times. I'm just…not a public speaker. I think I'll let you do the talking."

Evie chuckled, wrapping an arm around Gabby's shoulders in a short side hug. "Sure thing. Just relax."

Evie stepped away and knocked on the door.

 _"Come in!"_ a voice called from inside.

Evie smiled once more at Gabby over her shoulder before turning the knob and pushing the door open. They entered the room and Gabby closed the door behind them. The office was very nice looking. There was a portrait of Ben above a fireplace on the opposite wall, and the wall with the door had a large bookcase filled with books and different trinkets. In the middle of the room were two large, brown leather armchairs facing a desk, behind which was a desk chair, and a blue bench against a large window that faced the courtyard.

King Ben was sitting behind his desk, and Mal was leaning back against the desk facing him. They both turned and smiled at the two girls in greeting.

"Evie, Gabby. Please, come in." Ben greeted them, standing up. Mal straightened up as well.

"I'll get out of your guys' hair." she announced. Giving Ben a quick kiss, she smiled at the two girls and gave them a wink before leaving the room.

"Have a seat." Ben told the girls, gesturing to the two chairs while he moved around the desk, leaning back against it. It seemed more friendly and laidback then if he'd sat behind the desk. It put Gabby a bit more at ease as she sat carefully in the left leather chair while Evie sat with perfect posture in the other chair. "So, what's this big meeting about?"

"Well, I approached Gabby yesterday about helping me make that list of people to bring over from the Isle." Evie explained. "She agreed, and it actually turned into something more."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked curiously.

"Well, Jay made a joke about making a sort of club or organization, and it just triggered all these ideas that me and Gabby have been bouncing off each other since yesterday. I typed them up last night so we could discuss them with you." Evie explained, passing him the light blue folder in her hand. Ben took it and flipped it open, looking over whatever Evie had inside. As he read, his eyebrows rose, and he was nodding slowly as he took it all in.

"These are all amazing ideas." he told them, looking back and forth between Gabby and Evie. "Most of these issues I never would have thought of myself. Like teaching them to grow their own food. Before I saw the Isle for myself, I would've thought that wouldn't have been a problem."

"Hermie Bing, a member of the Anti-Heroes, started a garden on her rooftop." Gabby spoke up quietly. "The only issue with stuff like that is there are people on the Isle that would destroy it just to be mean. Or steal from it."

Ben nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good point. Probably the most we could do…Maybe we could air some shows or programs on gardening on ANN, so people on the Isle could watch them. And if they decide it's something they want to try, even just for themselves or others, they could figure out the best way to do it themselves."

Evie and Gabby both nodded in agreement.

"For your business ideas, Evie, I obviously don't have much say in how you run your business." Ben went on, looking down at the open folder again. "Both of these ideas are good. I think the second one might be best to try first, though. For every product bought, one is sent to the Isle. You could really hype it up with some TV interviews, which I could help you set up. Make it a kind of feel-good thing. Like people could feel good about themselves, because not only are they buying something for themselves, they're donating to less fortunate people, too. We'll see how it goes, and if you want to make it a regular thing or only for certain occasions."

Evie nodded with a wide smile. "That's perfect. I'll get started figuring that out right away."

"You have a website, right?" Gabby asked, looking over at Evie, who nodded. "Maybe when Dizzy gets here, if she's interested, you could make a little side page or something on your site to sell her stuff, too. Since you're already so well known, it could give her some extra publicity. And she could do the buy-one-send-one deal, too. For every accessory bought from Dizzy, something is donated."

Evie nodded. "I bet she'd like that, but it's ultimately her decision." she agreed.

Ben nodded thoughtfully. "Also, this one about having open communications," Ben noted, pointing down at the folder in his hand, "what gave you two that idea? It's different from all the other ideas listed." he noted, looking up and between the two.

Evie and Gabby exchanged a glance, and Evie searched Gabby's face for any cues.

"Um-" Evie opened her mouth, fully prepared to come up with an explanation without giving any of Gabby's personal secrets away, but Gabby reached over and grabbed Evie's hand in her own.

"I've got it." Gabby whispered, but kept her eyes downcast as she spoke to the King. "My mom got sick when I was young. I couldn't do anything to make her better, nothing I tried worked, and my dad basically told me to leave her be. I couldn't find anyone to help her, because most people on the Isle are only out for themselves; they won't help anyone unless they get something out of it. My mom ended up dying. And the only thing I couldn't help thinking ever since then, was that if I could have just gotten word to someone in Auradon, maybe someone over here could have helped her."

She fell silent, finally glancing up at Ben, who was staring at her with wide, sad eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Ben whispered, looking as heartbroken as if it'd been his own mother. Maybe that was some sign of empathy, something Gabby had never really seen before. "If I'd known…"

"I know." Gabby interrupted quickly. "But there are other things, too. Like what if you'd gone after Mal alone and got captured? You'd have no way off the Isle, and no way to call for help over here. And Uma wouldn't have had a way to make her demands to Auradon."

Ben nodded slowly. "That's a good point. Overall, it's a good idea. And you made a good point here about people maybe taking advantage of the opportunity." he added, looking back down at the list. "After I've spoken with the council about this, I'll contact Yen Sid. I'm sure he'd be happy to help."

Their meeting lasted another half an hour, and they left with Ben agreeing to mention the ideas at the next council meeting he had. Evie rushed off to her dorm to start working on her business idea while Gabby walked more slowly to her dorm. She curled up on her new bed, Gingersnap perched on her shoulder while she tried to work on homework. But she just couldn't focus on it. Her mind was stuck on something else, to the point she just stared blankly down at her notebook for half an hour.

Jay knocked on her open door three separate times before she finally looked up. "Hey, you okay?" he asked worriedly. "How'd the meeting go?"

Gabby blinked rapidly, closing her notebook. "It went really well. King Ben liked all our ideas." she answered while Gingersnap flew to perch on Jay's shoulder, snuggling under his long hair.

"Then what's wrong?" Jay asked, coming to sit on the edge of her bed facing her.

Gabby chewed on her lip silently for a few minutes before quietly asking, "Who am I supposed to be?"

"What do you mean?" Jay asked, confused.

"I mean…Who am I?" Gabby explained without really explaining. Jay was still confused. Gabby sighed, shifting to sit up a bit more against her pillows, her knees turned to the side with her feet tucked under her. "Okay, you remember what I was like when we first met, right?" she checked, to which Jay nodded. "Shaky, nervous, scared of my own shadow, couldn't fight back when bullies went after me…?"

"Yeah, I remember." Jay answered.

"Well, obviously after you guys left, I had to change." Gabby explained. "I had to…pretend to be braver, stronger, more confident. I had to be tougher, to stand up for myself. And I think, to an extent, I became that different person, but it was still mostly an act. Does that mean the real me is still that scared little girl? Or am I a completely different person to the first two?"

Jay's eyebrows rose into his hairline and he shrugged. "Honestly, I think you're over thinking it a little bit." he told her. "You just need to be yourself. You don't need to be scared here, and you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not. Just…get comfortable here, and be yourself. It's really not that hard. It might take time to get used to, but it's not as complicated as you're making it."

Gabby sighed heavily, nodding as she looked down at her comforter on the bed. Jay's eyes followed hers, and he couldn't help them straying to the creamy skin of her legs. Her dress was short enough standing, but sitting the way she was, her dress was very high on her thighs. Not growing up around proper etiquette and the whole 'act like a lady' attitude, Gabby probably didn't even realize what she was doing. But Jay couldn't help staring at her long, smooth legs. It took him a few moments to catch himself and he quickly jerked his head up, hoping she hadn't noticed him blatantly checking out her legs. She didn't, thankfully.

"Maybe you're right." Gabby said, bringing Jay back to the conversation. "I just…I'm happy. I'm happy to be here." she insisted, not wanting Jay to think she was ungrateful. "I'm just kinda lost. I knew how to fit in and survive on the Isle, even though it was a miserable existence. But it's different here."

"But it's a good different." Jay pointed out. "You've never fit in on the Isle, even you admitted that. But that's because you're a good, kind person. It won't be that hard for you to fit in here in Auradon." An idea popped into Jay's head. "How about this? The club fair is this Friday. I won't really be able to show you around, since I'll be running the tourney booth, but you can walk around with Evie, Mal, maybe Carlos. Try and pick a club or sport you might like. At least one, something to get you involved and meet people. Maybe finding something you enjoy, like I did with tourney, and making new friends with similar interests will help you find yourself."

Gabby tilted her head thoughtfully. "When did you get so smart?" she teased lightly.

Jay smirked, reaching over and shoving at her shoulder. Gabby laughed, plopping back against her pillow.

"It's a good idea." she agreed. "I'll definitely try to find something to join."

"Good. And if you don't, I'll make you water girl for the R.O.A.R team, and you'll get water for the guys during practice and games." Jay told her with a smirk. "Just as an incentive to actually try and find something."


	23. Chapter 23

**Ch 23 (Still 2015)**

Gabby glanced over at Evie and couldn't help grinning, trying to smother a laugh. She was bouncing lightly on her toes, her dark brown eyes fixed excitedly on the road leading to the castle.

Along with Evie and Gabby, King Ben, Mal, and Fairy Godmother were all stood outside Auradon Prep, waiting for the limo that would bring Dizzy and Hadie from the Isle. The four students had been let out of class a bit early to be there to greet the new students.

Gabby fiddled with her sleeve distractedly, wondering how much longer it would be. She was wearing another one of her new outfits. A red flannel over a gray t-shirt that had a red rose on the front, black leggings, and black combat boots.

Evie suddenly straightened her back and Gabby glanced at her before following her gaze. A long black limo had finally turned the corner and was pulling up in front of the school. Gabby grinned, also standing straighter in her excitement.

King Ben waited front and center with Mal and Fairy Godmother on one side and Evie and Gabby on the other as the limo pulled up in front of them. The door opened and Dizzy was the first to step out. She had the widest grin on her face as she looked around at everything, even spinning on her toes to see everything. Hadie was a bit more reserved as he followed her out, but his mouth was still hanging open as he looked up at the castle.

"Evie!" Dizzy squealed when she saw the blue-haired teenager. Being her usual cheerful, hyper self, Dizzy rushed to Evie and hugged her tight. Gabby smiled, and was only slightly surprised when Dizzy then gave Gabby a similar hug after pulling away from Evie.

Ben chuckled when he saw the interaction. "You must be Dizzy."

"Yeah. Hi! You're King Ben!" Dizzy answered excitedly after stepping away from Gabby. "Thank you so, so, _so_ much for letting me come here! It's a dream come true!" she rambled.

Gabby glanced over at the others and saw a fond smile on Fairy Godmother's face as she listened to Dizzy. Mal and Ben both looked amused, as well. Hadie was still standing by the limo, silently staring around in amazement. His electric blue hair was spiked up a bit, and he was wearing the dark gray leather jacket Gabby had fixed up for him.

Crossing the short space between the group and the limo, Gabby stepped up next to Hadie and dropped her arm over his shoulders. He instantly grinned up at her.

"Excited to be here?" she asked lightly.

"Yeah!" Hadie beamed at her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Gabby glanced over at the others and saw them smiling at the exchange.

The conversation was similar to the one when Gabby first arrived. Ben and Fairy Godmother once again couldn't stay long, as Ben had a quick meeting to attend, and Fairy Godmother needed to go supervise the setup of the Club Fair in the gymnasium. Gabby, Mal, and Evie showed Dizzy and Hadie where their dorm rooms would be. Auradon Prep didn't normally allow kids below thirteen or fourteen years old, but Dizzy and Hadie were only a year away from that age. They would just have their own separate dorms for another year or so until new students their age arrived at the school. And they'd have special classes and teachers for a while before the two could join the real classes next year. And they'd be joining the older students in Remedial Goodness, in the hopes it would help the transition to have older role models with them.

After giving the two a short tour of campus, they all headed to the gymnasium to check out the Club Fair, which was already well underway. There were crowds of people moving through the gym. Booths were lined up all around the four walls, and there was a row of booths down the middle, forming a sort of S-shaped path through the booths.

Gabby was just as amazed by it all as Dizzy and Hadie, though she kept it hidden better than them. Auradon Prep offered a wide variety of clubs and sports to choose from. The Art, Drama, Chess, and Book Clubs were just a few. There was also Band and Orchestra. Doug and Evie were both in the Science Club.

About halfway through the booths they found Lonnie at the R.O.A.R. booth, a wide smile on her face as she spoke with people and displayed photos of the team. Just a few booths down there was a small crowd bunched around the tourney booth, which Jay was hosting. He was standing in front of the table, talking and laughing with a group of guys his age. On the table were team photos, newspaper clippings, and a huge MVP trophy with Jay's name on it.

Gabby recognized some of the boys, like Aziz and Tyrone, and judging by a couple of the other guys wearing school tourney jackets, they were probably all part of the tourney team.

Jay met Gabby's eyes from between a couple of the guys' heads. "Hey, Gabby!" he called. "Have you met all the guys yet?" he asked as she moved closer to him. "This is Brendan, Akiho, and Emir, and you already know Tyrone and Aziz. Guys, this is Gabby."

Gabby smiled and waved shyly before crossing her arms over her stomach self-consciously.

"Nice to meet you." one of the guys, she thought it was Emir, told her genuinely.

"You thinking of joining something? Like a sport or club?" another guy asked curiously while Hadie, Dizzy, and Mal checked out the pictures at the tourney booth.

"Probably. I'd like to find something. Plus, Jay threatened to make me the team water girl if I didn't." she admitted, grinning slightly in embarrassed amusement.

The guys chuckled.

"You could join the Cheerleading squad." Aziz suggested with a smirk. "Then you could cheer us on at all our games."

Before Gabby could do much more than wrinkle her nose, someone scoffed from the next booth over, gaining their attention. In the next booth, the Cheerleading booth, Audrey was dressed in a blue, white, and yellow Cheerleading outfit, her brunette hair perfectly curled and in a high ponytail.

"Not to be rude, but I don't think cheerleading is your thing." Audrey told Gabby, looking over her outfit with her nose wrinkled.

Before Gabby could filter her thoughts, she answered back, "Not to be rude, but if you're a cheerleader, than I _know_ it's not my thing."

Audrey's mouth fell open while most of the guys laughed or 'ooh'ed. Jay was one of the guys laughing as he dropped his arm over Gabby's shoulders.

"Thank you _so_ much for saying that." he laughed, looking down at her. "Honestly, I can't see you being a cheerleader. If you wanted to, I'd be fine with it, but…" Jay trailed off, unsure what else he could or should say. He just couldn't see her as a peppy, flirty cheerleader. Sure, he flirted with cheerleaders a lot, mostly because they flirted back and gave him attention, but he didn't really take any of them seriously because they all just seemed so fake. Except for Jane, but she was an anomaly.

"Come on!" Dizzy interrupted them. "I want to see what else there is!" she exclaimed, hurrying away with Hadie following on her heals, quietly eager to see everything as well. Mal and Evie followed the kids, Mal rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"Well, I'd better go." Gabby told Jay, pulling out from under his arm. "I'll see you at dinner?" she asked uncertainly.

Jay nodded. "Yeah. I might be late, but I'll be there. And remember, you have to sign up for at least one thing before you leave." he reminded her sternly.

Gabby rolled her eyes, grinning at him. "Yes, sir." she joked before walking away. She quickly caught up with the others as the Video Games club caught Hadie's eye. They wandered through the gym, and very few of the booths held something that caught Gabby's interest for more than a second. The Book Club might be interesting, but Gabby wasn't sure what kinds of books they'd read, and if she'd like them. The Adventure Club sounded intriguing.

They were nearing the last booths when a beautiful picture on a table caught Gabby's eye and made her pause. It was of a beautiful mountain, the sunlight turning the very tips a fiery red with a blue sky in the background.

It wasn't the only photograph in the booth. Another photo was a close-up of dew drops on a green leaf. It had a blue ribbon on it saying 'first place'. There were also a couple photos of black-spotted dogs, which Gabby guessed were Dalmatians from the story of Cruella. In one of the photos, the dog had it's chin resting on it's paws, looking up almost sadly, while a fluffy baby chicken sat atop it's head.

"Hi!" a friendly voice pulled Gabby's attention from the photos and she looked up to see a girl at the booth, standing behind the table. She had wavy brown hair and friendly, blue-green eyes. She was wearing a white, short-sleeved shirt and a thick brown belt over a yellow skirt. "You're the new girl from the Isle, right? Gabby or something?"

"Um, yeah, that's me." Gabby stuttered slightly.

"Cool. I'm Tara." she introduced herself, sticking her hand out to shake, which Gabby did. "You interested in joining the Photography Club?"

"Um," Gabby paused, her eyes sweeping over all the many photos on display. "I don't know." she admitted uncertainly. "What's the point? Just taking pictures?"

Tara tilted her head slightly. "Pretty much. It depends, I guess. Everyone has their own reasons for liking photography. I love showing people things they may not see everyday. But you could give it a try. If you join and end up not liking it, you don't have to stay in the club. But we sometimes take trips, enter photography competitions, and host photo galleries."

"But I don't have a camera."

"That's fine. We have some cameras to rent out for people who don't have their own." Tara assured her.

Gabby thought about it. It did seem interesting. And all the photos on the table were amazing, though she doubted she could ever be as talented as these people. But it was still something she'd like to try.

"Okay. I'll join."

*~0~*

A couple hours later, Gabby found herself sitting outside at a picnic table, laughing with Mal and Evie as Dizzy and Hadie rambled excitedly about all the different things they'd seen on their first day in Auradon. They were all eating dinner waiting for their friends who were helping clean up after the Club Fair. It was nice out, but too warm for Gabby to wear her red flannel over her t-shirt, so she'd taken the flannel off and tied it around her waist.

Gabby was almost done eating her French Dip sandwich and fries when the others finally joined them. Mal had already left to find Ben when Jay arrived with Lonnie, Doug, Jane, and Carlos with Dude. The others at the table scooted over to make room. Jay and Doug joined Gabby and Evie on one bench, sandwiching the two girls between them, while Lonnie, Carlos, and Jane sat on the other bench with Dizzy and Hadie.

"So, did you guys see any clubs you want to join?" Jay asked before stuffing several fries in his mouth.

Dizzy immediately started rambling over all the cool groups and clubs in the school, while Hadie silently, but excitedly, nodded along. He was either a bit too shy to speak in front of the whole group, or he just couldn't get a word in with Dizzy talking.

"What about you, Gabs?" Jay asked when Dizzy finally paused long enough to breathe. He was smirking down at where Gabby was sitting next to him, squished between him and Evie. "Does the Swords team have a new water girl?" he asked teasingly.

Gabby wrinkled her nose at him. "I don't know, but I know it's not me." she answered playfully back. "I joined the photography club."

Jay looked both curious and a bit doubtful. "Photography? Like, just taking pictures? There's a club for that?"

"I guess so." Gabby answered with a shrug. "They had some pictures on the table, and they were really cool-looking. Some of them had ribbons from contests. I figured it was worth a try."

Jay shrugged. "True. You may end up liking it. When does the club meet?"

"Every Thursday around 4 o'clock. So I'll have to wait almost a week for the first meeting." Gabby admitted, wishing it was a bit sooner. She was beyond curious about the club.

"Are you going to need a camera?" Jay asked.

"Tara said they have some to borrow." Gabby explained. "I'll probably just do that, and if I end up liking it, maybe I'll buy my own. Of course, I'd need money, so I'll probably work for Evie and save up money for a while. I'm assuming decent cameras are expensive."

"Well, you'll be around a lot of people who know about that stuff who could give you advice on what to buy." Jay pointed out.

Before Gabby could respond, Lonnie leaned forward on the table. "Hey, Gabby, do you still have that naginata?"

Gabby blinked at the sudden change of subject. "Um, yeah, it's in my dorm. Fairy Godmother and King Ben haven't told me if I could keep it or not, though."

"Great! I don't suppose you'd consider coming to one of the R.O.A.R. practices and do a demonstration with it, would you?" Lonnie asked hopefully.

Jay laughed. "Yeah, give the guys even more reason to flirt with her." he joked, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Well,…I don't know…" Gabby said uncertainly.

"Please? I saw you fighting with it on the Isle." Lonnie begged. "You're amazing! We could do a demonstration. You with a naginata vs. me with a sword, or you vs. Jay. And maybe you and Jay could answer questions about life on the Isle or something. What do you think, Jay?"

Jay shrugged. "I suppose that'd be cool." He looked down at Gabby. "I can answer the questions if you'd rather not." he assured her quietly.

Gabby nodded slowly, unsure what kind of questions they'd expect her to answer. Wanting to change the subject, she turned back to Lonnie. "How do you know what naginatas are? I only know about them from reading an old book on weapons."

"My dad's an army general." Lonnie explained. "I've been taught about all kinds of different weapons. I've been taught the basics on using naginatas, but I'm nowhere near as skilled using them as I am with swords. So, you'll do it? Pretty please?"

Gabby sighed, but couldn't help smiling. "Sure."

*~0~*

Gabby had a few homework assignments over the weekend, but she got those done as quickly as possible so she could have her weekend to hang out with her friends, both new and old. They gave her an extended tour of the area, though they couldn't go too far from the campus. They even took her to the Museum of Cultural History, and they told her how Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos broke in and tried to steal the wand.

When Monday came around, Gabby headed toward Jay's locker after classes ended for the day. He would be walking to the amphitheatre with her for the demonstration Lonnie asked for. She'd already left her naginata locked up with the team's swords, as requested by Fairy Godmother.

After leaving her books in her locker, Gabby turned down a corner in the direction of Jay's locker. She saw him there, talking and laughing with a girl. Gabby had seen her around, but couldn't think of her name. She was beautiful in an exotic way. She was slender with fair skin. Her long, black hair had pink highlights and was in a high ponytail. She was wearing a gold jacket and blue poofy pants that Gabby didn't know the name of.

She laughed at something Jay said, smacked him lightly on his arm, which was bare in a sleeveless jacket as usual, and walked away just before Gabby reached his locker.

Jay turned back to his locker before noticing Gabby, his laughing smile still on his face.

"Hey, Gabby. Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep." Gabby answered as he shut his locker door. They turned and started down the hallway. "So, who was that girl you were talking to? You guys seemed to get along pretty well." she teased.

Jay laughed. "Oh, that was Jordan. She's cool. She's planning an interview with me and some of the other members of the Swords team."

"She going to interview Lonnie?" Gabby asked, figuring it was a given. After all, Lonnie was the new Captain and the first girl to be on the team.

"Probably." Jay agreed. "She wants to get it done in the next couple days so she can air it on her vlog the day before our next meet to drum up school support."

"Sounds like fun." Gabby noted lightly. "So,…you going to ask Jordan out or something?"

"What?!" Jay laughed incredulously. "No way. It's not like that. Jordan's great, but I don't like her like that. I may flirt with her, but I flirt with everyone. It doesn't mean anything like that."

"Okay." Gabby nodded. "What about Lonnie?"

Jay glanced down at her. "You think I like Lonnie?"

"Well, it sure seems like it." Gabby pointed out, starting to feel uncomfortable with how this conversation was going for some reason. "I mean, you brought her to the Isle, and you made her Captain of the team. You clearly trust her."

"Well, yeah, but we only brought her to the Isle because she blackmailed us." Jay pointed out. "I trust her to have my back, but…"

"She is really tough." Gabby pointed out. "And she's nice, and pretty. And if she's earned your trust, she must be something special."

Jay nodded slowly. "Yeah, she is all those things." he agreed slowly. "But she's not the girl I like."

Gabby didn't have time to respond as they reached the amphitheatre. Lonnie was already there, and the two girls entered the girls locker room to change clothes. Lonnie changed into her R.O.A.R. uniform, while Gabby changed into loose, black sweatpants that went down to her calves, a baggy, red tank top, and black and gray tennis shoes. Afterwards, they walked out and met up with the several guys that were on the team.

"Hi, Gabby!" several guys called at once, making Gabby pause in surprise before hesitantly waving back with a small smile. She recognized the guys who'd greeted her, especially Carlos, Aziz, Tyrone, and Herkie. Jay was standing among the guys, all of whom were dressed in their blue uniforms and holding swords. Gabby hesitantly approached Jay to stand near him while Lonnie stood in front of the team. Gabby's eyes lit up slightly when Jay held out her naginata. She took it and subconsciously held it close to her chest.

"Why's she here?" Chad demanded, pointing around Jay at Gabby before Lonnie could speak. "You being Captain is one thing, but girls still aren't allowed on the team. She has to leave."

"She's a guest, Chad." Lonnie informed him sternly. "As Jay told all of you last week, we had to fight a crew of pirates on the Isle of the Lost. And as many of you have already heard, Gabby here fought alongside us that day. I saw her fight myself, as did Jay and Carlos. I'm aware of the rules, and I know she can't join the team. Yet. However, I asked her here to give a short battle demonstration with her naginata."

"Nagi-whatta?" Chad asked, looking confused.

"This thing." Jay pointed out, using a hand to slightly lift Gabby's weapon while she still held it.

"But we fight with swords." Chad pointed out, lifting up his own sword. "Why do we need to watch her fight with that thing?"

"Maybe to broaden your tiny horizons?" Carlos muttered from Jay's other side, making Jay snort.

"I thought it would be something different and fun to watch." Lonnie explained vaguely. "Relax, Chad. It won't take long, and then we'll get on with practice as usual."

"We shouldn't be wasting practice time watching something that isn't going to help us." Chad argued. "Our next meet is this Friday. _Some of us_ need all the practice we can get." he sneered.

"Then quit talking and wasting time." Lonnie countered. "And if you need more practice, Chad, I'd be happy to practice with you one-on-one. I could give you a few pointers."

Several of the guys 'ooh'ed and laughed. Gabby hid her grin behind her naginata as Chad gaped at Lonnie, his face going red in embarrassment. He crossed his arms and scowled as Lonnie turned back to the rest of the group.

"Now, Jay and Gabby are going to spar." Lonnie announced before moving to stand with the rest of the team.

Jay winked at Gabby before walking past her toward the middle of the circle of blue and yellow blocks. Gabby hesitantly followed him, clutching her naginata with both hands until her knuckles turned white. They moved until they faced each other. Jay held his sword out in one hand, moving his feet in a stance. Gabby shifted her feet as well, though mostly for balance, and slid her hands along the staff of her naginata so she had a better grip while pointing her blade toward Jay's chest.

Jay smirked at her, but she was too nervous to return it. She was worried about embarrassing herself or Jay. What if she lost? What if she actually _beat_ him? Would he be mad that she embarrassed him in front of his team?

Gabby froze when Jay suddenly lowered his sword and approached her, putting his head near hers until his warm breath washed over her cheek and neck.

"Relax." he whispered in her ear. "This is just for fun. It doesn't matter who wins, and this isn't for survival. It's just a little friendly competition. See if you can actually take me out." When he pulled away he was smirking slightly, and Gabby couldn't help the corner of her mouth twitching in return. He stepped back until he was back in his original spot, his sword at the ready.

Gabby took a deep breath, steadying herself as she raised her naginata. Jay tapped his blade to hers before slashing out. Gabby stepped back, keeping her weapon out and aimed at his chest. Their blades clanged loudly every time she blocked one of his attacks. He kept coming at her while she continued backing up, keeping him at a safe distance with her longer weapon.

Jay kept his eye on her as they fought. She was on the defensive; she wasn't showing her true potential. So he wanted to make her. He suddenly spun around, aiming his blade at her head. Gabby barely lifted her naginata in time, causing his blade to strike the staff of her weapon. Gabby instinctively spun her naginata around, managing to strike Jay's arm with the staff end. He backed off, grinning slightly, before he came back swinging, literally.

They fought more vigorously now, each trading swings and blocks, though Gabby continued backing up to keep Jay a safe distance from her. Unfortunately, she couldn't continue backing up when the back of her foot bumped into one of the blue and yellow blocks encircling the amphitheater. She faltered and Jay almost got her, but she managed to block his shot.

She continued blocking his shots while her options flew rapidly through her mind. But every option first required her getting space between herself and Jay. So, she spun and kicked her leg out, managing to catch him in the shoulder. This made him step slightly back and to the side, clearing the way for Gabby to get out. She leapt around him, spinning and hitting her naginata into Jay's back.

Jay ducked and spun his leg out, managing to hook Gabby's ankle out from under her. She stumbled and fell, and before she could get up, her naginata was knocked out of reach and a sword tapped her shoulder.

Gabby tensed before sighing, her shoulders slouching in defeat.

"Now's when you say 'I yield.'." Jay joked from above her. She could hear the smirk in his voice.

Gabby rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I yield." she sighed.

The blade disappeared and a hand appeared in it's place. Gabby rolled over and took it, allowing Jay to pull her to her feet. The team erupted in cheers, and Gabby was shocked to realize they were cheering for her just as much as they were cheering for Jay's victory. The team swarmed them both, congratulating them both on the match and Gabby's skills, as well as asking where she learned to fight like that.

The only negative comment she received was from Chad, who merely said, "Not bad, but even if you were a guy, you'd never make the team."

Gabby didn't respond, but was slightly surprised that, when Chad walked away, Herkie "accidentally" tripped him.

Gabby left practice not long after that, wanting to get her homework done. She was finding that she enjoyed school and wished she'd been allowed to go as a child so she wasn't so far behind. Her teachers were frequently commenting on how well she was doing, so that was a relief.

When she left the amphitheater, she didn't notice a pair of dark brown eyes watching her leave.

*~0~*

Carlos entered his dorm room with Dude trotting at his side. Closing the door, he glanced over to see Jay laying on his bed staring up at the ceiling, one arm under his head. It was easy to tell whose bed was whose. The trunk at the foot of Jay's bed was covered in tourney and Swords equipment, while Carlos's trunk was covered in dog toys and a jar of dog treats.

It was Tuesday evening, and Carlos was later getting back to the dorm than Jay because he'd taken Dude for a walk with Jane. But now that he was back in his dorm, he needed to find out what was bothering Jay. He'd been off his game at practice that afternoon. Carlos knew Lonnie and a couple of the guys noticed it. Partially because he'd been the same on Monday's practice.

Thinking back to Monday's practice, Carlos suddenly remembered what happened on Monday, and wondered if that had something to do with Jay's sudden distracted attitude.

"Hey." Carlos greeted him while Dude hopped up onto Carlos's bed.

Jay blinked, just now realizing he wasn't alone anymore. "Hey. Where'd you go?" he asked distractedly.

"Jane and I took Dude for a walk." Carlos answered, plopping down on his bed and cuddling Dude into his arms.

"Cool." Jay responded, not really paying attention.

"What's on your mind?" Carlos asked.

Jay shrugged. "Nothing."

"You talked to Gabby today?" Carlos urged.

Jay blinked and looked over at him. "Not really….Why? Should I have?"

Carlos shrugged, looking down at Dude. "I don't know. Just wondering if you've spoken to her."

Jay narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He was about to ask what Carlos was getting at, when Carlos continued.

"You seem distracted lately. What's up?"

Now, Jay knew Carlos was up to something. "Nothing's up. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"So you _don't_ want to kiss Gabby?" Dude asked, his chin not moving from resting on Carlos's arm.

Both Jay and Carlos's eyes widened, though Jay was in shock and Carlos tried not to laugh at the blunt question.

"Wha-why-you-Shut up!" Jay stuttered. "What kind of question is that?! Of _course_ I don't want to kiss Gabby! She's-she's _Gabby_!"

"And Jane's Jane. Carlos still kissed her." Dude countered. Carlos blushed bright red and Jay was suddenly the smug one as he smirked at his best friend.

" _Reeeally_." Jay drew the word out, still smirking.

"Shut up, that's not the point here." Carlos stuttered in embarrassment. "You've been distracted since sparring with Gabby yesterday, and don't try to deny it."

Jay sighed, plopping back down on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. After several moments of silence, he finally spoke. "Okay, fine…I _think_ …I like Gabby." he admitted hesitantly.

"You think?" Carlos repeated curiously, looking over at his best friend.

"I don't know!" Jay threw his hands up in exasperation. "I've never…felt like this before." he explained in disgust. He didn't like talking about his feelings.

"You flirt around with girls all the time." Carlos pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's never serious. I flirt with pretty much every girl around, but it doesn't mean I'd consider going further than that."

"Gabby's different." Carlos noted.

"Obviously. I've known her for years. And she knows me. She's seen me at my worst; she's patched me up after my dad's drunken rages. I've literally taken a blade for her. And I've seen her go from the scared little girl I bought off Gaston to this…" Jay trailed off, unable to say out loud what he thought of Gabby now. Carlos would never let him live it down. And Dude would probably blurt it out to someone. Probably Gabby, with Jay's luck.

"So, just tell her you like her." Carlos suggested.

Jay glared at him. "I can't." he muttered through gritted teeth.

Carlos smirked. "So, the same person who could probably get any girl he wants, who gave me the _worst_ advice possible on asking Jane out, can't get a date with Gabby?" he teased.

Jay chucked a pillow at him, making Carlos laugh. "Shut up! You're not helping."

"Okay, okay! Sorry." Carlos laughed. "So, you can't tell her how you feel…why don't you show her?" he suggested the first thing that popped into his mind.

Jay's brows furrowed in confusion. "How am I supposed to do that?"

Carlos shrugged. "I don't know. I saw it in a magazine in Mal and Evie's room."

Jay rolled his eyes, laying back down on his bed and staring thoughtfully up at his ceiling. Show her? How was he supposed to do that? What could he possibly do that would show Gabby that he liked her as more than a friend? And what would he do if she didn't like him in return?

 **AN: A lot happening in this chapter, between the Club Fair, her little duel with Jay, and Jay sort of admitting he likes Gabby. What do you all think? And what about Gabby joining the Photography Club? I'll be introducing some other Disney/Descendants characters next chapter, including a few new OCs I came up with for club members. Any guesses on who Tara's parents are? I haven't given many clues about it yet, but there will be more to come.**

 **I'm not sure how I'm going to end this story, though the ending is a ways away, I just think I want to end it before Descendants 3 is set. That being said, has anyone seen the new teaser trailer for Descendants 3?! It was** _ **epic**_ **! I'm so excited!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Ch 24**

Gabby nervously fiddled with her sleeve, her arms crossed over her chest to hold her notebook in place. She wasn't sure what all she would need for a photography club meeting. She hoped she would just need the notebook and pencil she was carrying.

"Which classroom is it again?" Jay asked. He was walking Gabby to her first photography club meeting after classes Thursday afternoon. It was on the second floor of the castle and on the opposite end of the building, so he'd have to book it to get to R.O.A.R. practice on time. This was an important practice, after all. The last one before their meet on Friday.

"Uh…room 214." Gabby recited, her eyes on the room numbers as they walked down the nearly-empty hallway. Finally, they found it and Gabby paused.

Jay looked down at her and saw how nervous she was. "Hey, you'll be fine." he told her quietly.

Gabby looked up at him and saw him staring down at her. His eyes were softer than she was used to, and he was giving her a small, reassuring smile. She knew she was blushing as she returned the smile gratefully.

"Thanks." she whispered, looking down sheepishly.

"Gabby!" Tara greeted happily, coming up behind Gabby from down the hall. "Glad you could make it. Come on in. Everyone should be here soon."

Gabby glanced once more at Jay before following Tara into the room. Jay waited until she was completely in the room before turning and running full speed down the hall. He would just make it to practice on time. He didn't want Lonnie to make him do fifty extra push-ups for being late.

Gabby hesitantly followed Tara into the classroom and looked around. It was one of the smaller classrooms in the castle that she'd seen. There were about a dozen desks, and against the back wall was a line of tables with five computers. There were a few people already there, sitting in a little group of desks talking among themselves. Tara joined them and waved Gabby over to sit with them, which she did.

"Guys, this is Gabby." Tara introduced them. Gabby waved shyly.

"Hi, Gabby!" a beautiful girl with sleek, black hair, fair skin, and sea blue eyes greeted her with a radiant smile. "I'm Aphrodite. I love your hair! It's beautiful." she gushed excitedly.

"Um, thank you. It's nice to meet you." Gabby answered shyly, smiling slightly.

"I'm Aria." another girl introduced herself quietly. She also had fair skin, but her hair was strawberry blonde and up in a bun, and she had blue-green eyes and a brown watch on her wrist. She was subconsciously picking at the sleeve of her light blue sweater.

Aphrodite also noticed. "You know, you could just use a lint roller." she told her.

Aria shrugged. "I could, but it'd be pointless. Dalmatians shed like crazy. My clothes will forever be coated in black and white fur." Her casual tone said she really didn't mind.

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh! You have to see these pictures I took at home over the weekend!" she announced, eagerly turning on the pink digital camera on her desk that was in a clear, plastic case. She began eagerly showing them underwater photos of schools of fish and colorful coral and plants.

Other people trickled in as the meeting time drew closer, and Gabby was introduced to other people, including a boy named Kaito Thatch, who had tan skin; shaggy, white hair; and blue eyes. There was also a light blue tattoo peaking out from under his t-shirt sleeve and a blue crystal that hung from a string, resting on his chest. The tattoo surprised Gabby, as she thought kids had to wait until they were 18 in Auradon to get things like that, but he briefly explained it was something from his tribe.

It was a few minutes after four when an adult hurried into the room. She was probably the youngest teacher Gabby had seen on campus yet. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with olive-toned skin; long, straight, black hair; and brown eyes. She was wearing jeans and a red blouse, and she appeared slightly out of breath.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." she told them, getting her breath back fairly quickly. "My last class had a few stragglers that I needed to talk to." She approached the group of desks and set a small bag atop one. "Now, first thing's first. I see we have a couple new members since our last meeting." she grinned around at them, her eyes lingering on Gabby and one or two other people. "I'm Ms. Pelekai, but you can call me Lilo, and this is the Photography Club. We're pretty laidback here, there's no strict schedule. I'll occasionally give out a sort of assignment, but they're more for fun than a grade. Something like…take some creative photos using shadows. Or take scenic photos while on vacation. I'll also let everyone here know if there's any photography contests or galleries you could enter. Most of our time here is spent on the computers, editing or fixing up some photos that you've already taken, and exchanging questions and suggestions."

Soon, most of the teenagers were at computers, plugging their cameras in so they could edit their photos on the computer. Even the other new person seemed to already have a camera and was sitting at a computer with the other members, leaving Gabby sitting awkward and alone at a desk.

"Hi." Lilo approached Gabby, smiling kindly down at her. "What's your name, again?"

"Gabby." she answered quietly.

"It's nice to meet you, Gabby. Have you ever done photography before?"

Gabby shook her head. "I don't even have a camera, and I certainly don't know how to use one." she admitted, blushing in embarrassment.

"That's alright. Everyone has to start somewhere." Lilo assured her, still with a smile. "And we have a few cameras to loan out. They're not the best cameras in the world, but they work. I could give you some pointers today and give you a simple assignment to complete for next Thursday. Would that be okay?"

Gabby agreed, figuring she'd need all the help she could get.

They spent almost the whole hour-long club meeting with Lilo explaining a few things about photography and offering up tips. She showed some examples with her own photos as well as some of the other teens' photos as she explained. She told Gabby about things she should consider when taking pictures; such as the rule of thirds; lighting; foreground, midground, and background.

Lilo then loaned Gabby one of the club's digital cameras, a gray one with a couple dents and a number 2 on the side, had Gabby sign it out for the week, and gave her a crash course in using it before the hour was up.

"Okay. I'm not going to give you anything too difficult." Lilo told Gabby after giving the rest of the club their assignment. They were all packing up now while Gabby faced Lilo. "For this week, just…experiment. Practice. If you see something you think would make a good photo, take a picture. Just try to remember all those tips I gave you. And remember: anything can be a good photo. You've seen that just in this club."

That was true. Gabby had seen beautiful and amazing photos of things ranging from oceanic scenery to light refraction to a Dalmatian sitting on a horse's back. The variety in this group alone was fascinating.

So, Gabby left the classroom and headed off with Lilo giving her one last thing to think about.

 _"Let yourself be inspired."_

*~0~*

Gabby didn't have much of a chance to get a variety of photos over the next 24 hours. She got some photos of Gingersnap during the evening in her dorm, like shots of Gingersnap ruffling her feathers, hiding under her wing, and some close-ups of her eye and face. She even got a couple interesting shadow photos like Lilo had mentioned. While getting ready to go to sleep, Gabby had accidentally knocked a small, metal pencil sharpener off her bedside table. The room had been very dark apart from a single lamp, which Gabby noticed had caused the pencil sharpener to leave a long, dark shadow on the carpet. Gabby had taken pictures of it from a few different angles and felt proud of that one idea.

Unfortunately, she'd most likely have to wait until Saturday to get anymore photos. All day Friday, everyone was talking about the R.O.A.R. meet that night at six. Gabby was supposed to meet the girls in Evie and Mal's dorm around 4:30 so they could get ready for the meet. Gabby wasn't sure what they all meant by 'get ready'. How does one get ready for a R.O.A.R. meet, anyway?

Nonetheless, Gabby arrived at Evie's dorm to find Evie and Mal there getting ready. Evie wore a dark blue dress with a black leather jacket. Mal didn't seem too keen on showing school spirit by wearing the school colors, settling on a purple jacket and ripped skinny jeans. Gabby wanted to at least show some school spirit, so she wore a blue short-sleeved t-shirt, pale skinny jeans, and white tennis shoes. Evie helped her with a simple hairdo by pulling the top section of her black and red hair back in a braid while leaving the rest loose and slightly wavy just past her shoulders.

"So, what does a R.O.A.R. meet entail, exactly?" Gabby asked curiously as they made the walk from the dorms to the amphitheater.

"Don't look at me." Mal told her. "This is the first time I've been to one. They've only had like one meet this year so far, that I know of."

Evie nodded. "Yeah, I went with Doug. The two teams basically compete in one-on-one matches, and I think the first team to win five matches wins the whole meet."

Gabby nodded, feeling more and more excited about watching for herself.

The closer they got to the amphitheater the more people they saw. Everyone was on their way to watch the meet, which would be starting in about half an hour. As they were nearing the door, Gabby heard her name being called.

Gabby paused, letting Mal and Evie go on without her as she looked over her shoulder. Jay was running up to her wearing one of his favorite leather jackets.

"Hey." he greeted her as he stopped next to her. "How was class today?"

Gabby shrugged. "It was good. I've got a couple assignments to do over the weekend and a quiz on Monday to study for."

Jay nodded, trying to get the guts to ask what he really wanted. He glanced around, trying to make it look like he'd just noticed the chill in the air. "It's kinda chilly. You wanna wear my jacket?" he asked, glancing back at her.

Gabby hummed, looking thoughtfully toward the amphitheater. "I think I'll be fine without it. It's usually pretty warm in there, and I'm assuming it'll be warmer with all the people. Thanks though." she told him as she turned to head inside, not noticing the flash of disappointment cross Jay's face.

"Yeah. No problem." Jay mumbled quietly, following her inside.

Gabby scanned the already-crowded amphitheatre, focusing mainly on the benches on the ground floor and the balcony above. She easily found Mal's bright purple hair up on the second floor.

"I'm going to sit with Mal and Evie." Gabby told Jay. "Good luck in your meet."

"Thanks!" Jay called as Gabby hurried away. He sighed, trying not to feel disappointed. After all, Gabby didn't have many good experiences with guys finding her attractive. Of course she would have no clue what her wearing his jacket would mean. So, he tried to shrug it off as he headed to the locker room, needing to focus on the meet.

Gabby hurried up to the balcony and down a row of seats to sit with Mal and Evie. They were soon joined by Doug, Dizzy, and Hadie. The rest of the seats filled in quickly. There were also benches in the arena on opposite sides. On one bench sat some of Auradon Prep's R.O.A.R. team. On the other bench sat who Gabby assumed was the opposing team, made up of several teenage boys dressed similarly to the Auradon team. Except their sleeveless hoodies were red instead of blue, and had black sides and accents instead of gold.

Jay and Carlos were the last two to join the teams on the benches. Lonnie was standing with her team, talking to a taller guy who looked young, but was certainly not still in high school.

"What's the team they're facing against?" Gabby asked Evie.

"The Imperial Academy from Northern Wei. They're in for a tough meet, but I'm sure Lonnie doesn't mind." Evie explained with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

Evie pointed down to where Lonnie had moved to halfway across the arena with the guy she'd been speaking to, and they were talking with another man of Asian decent and a woman. Actually, all four of them looked like they could be related. Evie confirmed Gabby's suspicion, "That's Li Shang and Mulan, Lonnie's parents. Mulan is the coach for the Imperial Academy R.O.A.R. team. The younger guy with them is Li Shang Jr., Lonnie's older brother who's the coach for the Auradon team. So, it's a big family reunion."

"With a side dish of healthy competition." Mal added with a smirk, making the others laugh.

The meet started soon after. As Evie explained earlier, each member of the team stepped up to compete in one-on-one matches against the Imperial Academy team. Chad was the first to compete, and he won his match. Gabby didn't know the second boy to compete for Auradon, but it was a close match until he ultimately lost. Herkie went third and lost, but Gabby decided that was only because his competitor was quicker and light on his feet. With Auradon losing two to one, Gabby was nervous during Aziz's match, but he was as skilled with a sword as he was confident with girls. After an intense clashing of swords, Aziz managed to seemingly pull a win out of thin air. This tied the meet up for the time being.

There was a short break in matches for the two teams to huddle and discuss something, and Gabby sat back in her seat and looked around. She hadn't realized how focused she was on the meet until she sat back from the edge of her seat. She glanced over at Mal and looked down when she caught sight of movement. Mal was distractedly fiddling with a gold ring on her index finger, spinning it around endlessly.

Gabby tilted her head, having never seen that ring on Mal before. Looking closely, she could just make out what looked like the Beast's face engraved in the ring. "Hey, Mal? Where'd you get that ring?" Gabby asked curiously.

Mal blinked and glanced at Gabby before looking down at her hands. "Oh. It's Ben's ring. He asked me to wear it at his coronation, and I've worn it ever since. Well, you know, except for when I broke up with him and ran off to the Isle." she added with a roll of her eyes.

Gabby still had her head tilted. "But why would he want you to wear his ring? You have plenty of your own."

Mal pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It's hard to explain…"

"It's romantic." Evie piped up. "It's like…silently telling everyone she's Ben's girlfriend. Like that." Evie suddenly pointed past Gabby and down to the seats on the ground floor. There was a girl about their age with blonde hair, and her petite form was nearly drowning in a huge blue jacket with yellow sleeves. She was cheering, and right at that moment the teams broke their huddles. Tyrone ran over to the girl in the jacket, kissed her, and then ran into the middle of the arena so he could begin his own match.

"That girl's obviously Tyrone's girlfriend." Evie explained. "For one, I've seen them around school together. For another, if you could see the back of the jacket it has Tyrone's name on it."

Gabby blinked before her eyes widened slightly. Thankfully, the others didn't notice her reaction, because Tyrone's match had just started. But Gabby couldn't focus on that. Her thoughts were swirling with something else.

Jay had asked her to wear his jacket. Well, he offered because he thought she'd get cold, but that was besides the point. It wasn't a school jacket with his name on it, but she knew which particular jacket he was wearing that night. It was one of his favorites. It was a deep red leather jacket with yellow sleeves and a picture of Jay's cobra on the back. Anyone who knows Jay would know it was Jay's jacket. And if anyone saw Gabby wearing it…

Did Jay realize what that could mean? Or was he just being nice? And if he did know what it could mean, why would he ask her to wear it? Was he implying that he liked her as more than a friend? She certainly felt closer to him than she used to since they all returned to the Isle to get Mal. He acted differently with her, almost gentle and kind.

And if he _did_ like her, did she unintentionally turn him down when she denied his offer to wear his jacket? If she knew all this before, would her answer have been different? Did she like Jay as more than a friend? She always knew he was physically attractive. She'd patched him up shirtless, and she'd felt the firm muscles in his arms when they slept under their shelf in Jafar's shop. Not to mention his smile, and his eyes, and his flawless skin. And he was funny. They'd bonded a lot over the years, especially in the last couple weeks. He'd admitted to buying her from Gaston simply to protect her from the other Isle guys. And-

 _'Oh my god, I like Jay!'_ Gabby's thoughts screamed in her mind, making her mouth fall open. She knew her face was probably bright red as she realized this, but that couldn't be helped. This epiphany was life-altering. At least in her mind. She'd never liked a guy before. Guys always terrified her. But what could she do about it? And what if she was wrong? What if she was just reading too far into Jay's offer of wearing his jacket?

She was briefly pulled from her thoughts by cheers from the crowd and realized that Tyrone had won his match, bringing Auradon Prep in the lead with three to two. While Tyrone returned to his team to high fives and pats on the back, Carlos stepped into the middle of the arena to face a huge guy with a buzz cut. Carlos looked nervous as he twirled his sword aimlessly before stilling it to take his stance.

Gabby couldn't focus very well on Carlos's match, which made her feel guilty for missing her friend's match. But her mind just kept circling back to her thoughts on Jay. Her gut was twisting anxiously in a debate on what she should do, or if she should do anything at all.

Trying to get her thoughts in order, she decided she first needed to decide if she really liked Jay, and if she wanted to do anything about it. It didn't take much thought to decide that, yes, she liked Jay. A lot. But was she willing to take the risk of being more than friends with him? And did she have the guts to make the first move, or should she leave that to him?

In that moment, Gabby realized her eyes had traveled down until she was blankly staring at the girl in the jacket; Tyrone's girlfriend. And that sight gave her an idea.

Jay had offered for her to wear his jacket. Maybe, at some point, she could ask to wear it. It was subtle; Jay may not even think she'd mean anything by it, but if he did, he would assume it was her answer. He would assume she was saying that she would like to be his girlfriend, if that indeed was his intention. And if it wasn't, if Jay was simply being nice in offering her his jacket, it was subtle enough that she shouldn't embarrass herself.

By the time Gabby decided on her next move, Carlos lost his match. Mulan had clearly done an amazing job training her Swords team. Carlos glumly made his way back to his team's bench to several commiserating pats on the back. With her eyes following him back toward the team, Gabby noticed Jay and Lonnie standing near the bench, their heads bent together as they whispered to each other. They were pointing back and forth for a bit before they both nodded and Jay grabbed his sword before walking to the center of the arena. It appeared as if the two had just decided who would compete next. The score was once again tied three to three. Either team needed two more wins to win the whole meet.

Several people nearby gasped and Gabby caught snatches of whispered conversation. Apparently most people expected Jay to go last, as he was the best on the team and almost guaranteed to win his match. A sort of save-the-best-for-last strategy that was fairly popular in R.O.A.R. matches. Especially as the teams were tied and only needed two more wins.

Jay and his opponent took their stances. After a few seconds, they began. Their swords clanged loudly in the silent amphitheatre as they exchanged blows. They circled each other as they fought, but neither gave an inch. It was an even match that had Gabby once again on the edge of her seat and holding her breath. She would tense and her breath would catch every time the other guy nearly got Jay with his sword. But then Jay would dodge and retaliate.

This match felt like it took forever. On the one hand, they were moving so fast they were blurs, but on the other hand it felt like no progress was being made. They just continued to exchange blows and jabs. Jay leapt and back flipped off a few of the blocks. Then, in a move that took less than three seconds, Jay flipped from a block over his opponent's head to land behind him, and then swept his leg around to knock the guy's legs out from under him. As soon as the guy's back hit the mat, Jay kicked his sword away and pointed his own sword at the guy's throat, winning the match.

Most of the crowd screamed their cheers as Jay brought Auradon Prep one win closer to winning the meet. He returned to his team to several high fives and guy hugs. He gave Lonnie a pat on the shoulder before she stepped out onto the mat, her own sword in hand to face the next Imperial Academy opponent. If Lonnie won this match, she'd win the meet for Auradon. If she lost, it would be up to the last Auradon team member that Gabby didn't know the name of.

Gabby could distinctly hear people screaming, "Go Lonnie!" or similar statements. She thought it sounded like mostly girls cheering Lonnie on, but she couldn't be sure. Either way, Lonnie seemed to be ignoring them in favor of focusing on her meet. A tall young man of Asian descent with short hair stepped up to face her. By his confident stance and the way he'd been talking to the team earlier, Gabby guessed he was the Captain of the Imperial Academy team. So it was Captain against Captain.

They took their stances, and then with a clang of swords the match began. Everyone watched silently, and Gabby held her breath for the first several seconds of the match. It was a tense silence that fell over the amphitheater like a blanket. Gabby knew from Jay and the others that Auradon Prep had received some criticism for not only allowing a girl on the team, but also making her Captain. This was Lonnie's moment to either prove all the critics wrong, or prove them right.

The Imperial Academy opponent spun and managed to whack Lonnie's butt with his sword, earning 'ooh's from the crowd. But Lonnie retaliated by kicking her leg out and tripping him up.

Gabby was able to relax a bit after seeing Lonnie hold her own in the match. The two continued to exchange blows in a close match that seemed to take forever. And they were all over the arena. Whenever the guy thought he had Lonnie backed into a corner, she'd simply leap onto one of the blocks and either jump the blocks until she was clear, or she'd flip right over his head to land behind him.

Ending up back in the middle of the arena, Lonnie and the guy continued to swing their swords at each other. It was almost impossible to notice at first, but then Gabby narrowed her eyes when she realized that the guy was suddenly closer to the block behind him. That's when she realized that Lonnie was slowly but surely driving him backwards.

He bumped into the block behind him, which caused his knees to bend and his stance to weaken. He wobbled just slightly, but it was enough. Lonnie spun around, sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell and dropped his sword, and before anyone knew what was happening, Lonnie was standing over him with her sword at his neck.

There was a couple seconds of silence as the shock of a girl winning the match faded, then Gabby was among the crowd standing from their seats, cheering in victory. Lonnie offered her hand to help the guy up, and they both bowed to each other formally before Lonnie was swept up in a group hug by most of her team, who had rushed onto the mat to celebrate their win.

Gabby's hands started to hurt from clapping so hard. It was several minutes before people began leaving the amphitheater. Gabby followed Evie and the others through the stands and down the stairs to the ground floor. Most of the team had disappeared into the boys locker-room, Carlos being the last to follow after kissing Jane, who was waiting with the other cheerleaders. Gabby and the others approached Jane, who was beaming widely. Her cheeks were flushed and her curled dark hair was slightly wind-swept, probably from her cheerleading.

"They're just showering and changing quick. Then we're all heading to Tony's to celebrate. Everyone's invited." Jane told them excitedly.

"Who's Tony?" Gabby asked, wondering if he was a member of the team she hadn't met yet.

"Tony's Restaurant is an Italian restaurant in town. They're best known for their spaghetti, but everyone loves their pizza, too. The teams like to go there after games." Doug explained.

Gabby nodded in understanding, her smile growing a bit more excited. She'd tasted pizza once before at school lunch and it was delicious. She couldn't wait to have it again.

The team came out of the locker-room just then, and they were all rowdy and excited, jumping and smacking into each other like typical guys. They were immediately swarmed by a crowd of the audience, who were cheering. Girls were squealing and Gabby caught a glimpse of Audrey in a cheerleading uniform clinging to Chad as if he won the whole thing.

Gabby backed up until her back hit a wall, and she waited patiently there. She still wasn't comfortable in crowds. Especially one as rowdy and large as the one currently surrounding Jay and the rest of the team. She expected Jay to stay in the center of the crowd, reveling in the attention and praise and sharing in the celebration with his teammates. But to her surprise, he stretched his head over the crowd, and when he found Gabby he pushed his way through the crowd to her.

Several of the team followed, whooping in celebration. "We're headin' to Tony's! Anyone who wants in, meet us there!" Aziz hollered for everyone to hear. "Pizza's on Li'l Shang!" he added jokingly, to which Lonnie's brother appeared and put him in a headlock.

Jay was still laughing, his smile stretched completely across his face to reveal his dimples, when he reached Gabby's side.

"Hey, you're coming, right?" he asked her. "We're going to celebrate with pizza."

Gabby was nodding before he even finished speaking, her blue eyes staring up into his brown ones. "Sure." she answered quietly.

They followed the crowd, which thankfully dispersed somewhat when they got outside as everyone headed off to their separate cars. It was dark out as night had fallen, stars scattered across the night sky above their heads. The chill in the air brushed Gabby's bare arms, and the goosebumps that popped up on her skin reminded her of her plan.

Gabby went with Jay and a few of the other guys, who were apparently all catching a ride with Aziz. A glance around told Gabby that Evie and Mal were going with Doug. Carlos was walking ahead with Jane, and the two were holding hands.

Gabby cleared her throat quietly, trying to work up the nerve to say what she wanted. She subconsciously wrapped her hands around her upper arms. Jay glanced down at her where they were walking side-by-side at the back of the group.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, bumping his elbow to her arm.

Gabby smiled slightly up at him. "Um, well,…I was just wondering if that offer from earlier is still available…? It's kinda chilly…" she trailed off sheepishly.

Jay's eyes widened slightly. "Oh! Yeah. Sure. Here." he quickly slipped his arms from his jacket, leaving him in a dark gray short sleeved t-shirt. He held the jacket out to her, and Gabby blushed bright red as she took it from him and slipped it on. The sleeves almost completely covered her hands. It was big, and loose, and warm, and it smelled like Jay; musky with a hint of leather. And Gabby loved it.

"Thanks." Gabby murmured quietly, practically hiding her face in the collar of the jacket.

"No problem." Jay assured her with a grin. He couldn't help continuously glancing down at her in his jacket. It made something in his chest grow warm, seeing her in his jacket. It dwarfed her, making her appear even smaller than usual. And with a picture of his cobra on the back, no one would doubt whose jacket she was wearing.

They reached Aziz's car only a few moments after everyone else and squeezed into the back with Carlos and Jane while Herkie sat in the front passenger seat. Carlos caught a glimpse of Gabby as he scooted over and paused. He stared at her for a moment before looking at Jay with his brows raised. Jay merely smirked before facing forward. Since there were only three seatbelts in the back, they just sat back and hoped they weren't pulled over.

The drive was only about ten minutes, and it flew by as they blasted the radio and talked about the match. Finally, they parked on a street in town where several other cars were already parked. Several teenagers were already heading into a small brick building with green trim and a sign above the door that read 'Tony's Restaurant'.

Gabby got out of the car and followed Jay into the restaurant, trying not to look and feel awkward. She stuffed her hands deep into the pockets of Jay's jacket, subconsciously making herself smaller within the comforting warmth of the leather.

"Everyone's sitting in the corner." Carlos pointed out as he and Jane followed them inside. Across the small restaurant, a few of the guys were pushing a few tables together. All the tables were covered in red and white checkered tablecloths and had what looked like candles in glass bottles in the center of each table.

"Alright, I'm only buying five large pizzas and three pitchers of pop. You want anything else, you can pitch in." Li'l Shang called out as everyone gathered around the group of tables. Gabby only hesitated slightly before Jay practically forced her into a chair next to him, right in the middle of the celebration.

After a few minutes of discussion and debating, the order was given to a plump man who was half bald with black hair and a mustache for five large pizzas; two pepperoni, one cheese, one sausage, and one mushroom; and three pitchers of different sodas. After the order was placed, several jars of breadsticks were placed on the tables as appetizers, and Gabby barely refrained from filling up on them after the first deliciously-buttery bite.

She noticed several people were glancing pointedly at her outfit, probably noticing her wearing Jay's jacket, but she tried to ignore them and enjoy herself. It wasn't too difficult to do, though, since several people around them were quick to include her in their conversations. Of course, she knew it wouldn't be long before someone said or asked something. Luckily, the one who finally gave in to the impulse was considerate of Gabby's embarrassment.

"I'm going to go to the ladies room." Evie announced quietly, more for the few people around her. She then grabbed Gabby's arm in her hand. "Wanna come, Gabby?"

"Um," Gabby stuttered slightly, glancing briefly at Jay and a few of the guys who were watching them. "Sure." she gave in warily, letting Evie pull her from her chair. Evie also grabbed Mal's arm with her free hand and dragged her along. When Gabby glanced at Mal from behind Evie's back, Mal rolled her eyes with a small smirk.

When they reached the "safety" of the girl's bathroom, Evie released them and spun around to stare at Gabby with wide, brown eyes.

"You're wearing Jay's jacket." she stated simply.

Gabby pressed her lips together, awkwardly shrugging her shoulders at the statement. What was she supposed to say to that? Evie wasn't asking a question; she was stating a fact. A very obvious, and slightly embarrassing fact. Gabby could feel her pale face growing red in embarrassment. Not embarrassment over it being Jay, obviously, but the fact that everyone seemed to be making a big deal out of it.

Mal snorted. "And now that you've stated the obvious, E, why don't you cut to the chase? Say or ask whatever it was that you dragged us into the bathroom for."

"Well, I didn't want to ask her in front of everyone." Evie defended herself, tearing her attention from Gabby to focus on Mal. "And I thought I'd get her out of there for a bit. Did you _see_ Audrey eyeing her? She was obviously about to make some comment or something that would have just drawn everyone's attention."

Gabby nodded slowly. She'd noticed the same thing.

"Fair point." Mal agreed. "So, I'll just move this discussion along." she added, turning to look down slightly at Gabby, who was the only girl not wearing heels or pumps. "Considering the discussion we had at the meet about Tyrone's girlfriend wearing his jacket, you clearly aren't naive to what you wearing Jay's jacket could mean. Are you guys suddenly dating?" she asked bluntly.

Gabby blushed bright red once again, not noticing that she was fiddling with the end of Jay's jacket sleeves. "N-no." she stuttered.

"But you want to be." Evie concluded, smirking knowingly.

Gabby avoided eye contact before sighing in defeat. "Jay asked me to wear his jacket before the meet, saying that it would get chilly. I figured I'd be fine, so I declined." she explained slowly. "Then we had that discussion at the meet," she added, gesturing to the two other girls, "about girls wearing their boyfriend's things, like rings and jackets and stuff. I-I don't know if that's what Jay was suggesting when he asked. He was probably just being nice." she pointed out, to which Mal snorted and Evie scoffed.

"So, you decided to wear Jay's jacket in a way of maybe telling him you want to be his girlfriend." Mal concluded, being blunt once again.

Gabby practically buried herself in Jay's jacket to hide and die from embarrassment.

"What if Jay's too thick to get the message?" Mal asked.

Gabby shrugged, her head still hiding in the jacket.

"You two could go back and forth for years like this!" Evie exclaimed in exasperation. "Just be upfront and tell him you like him."

"But what if he was just being nice?" Gabby asked, her head finally popping out of the jacket. "What if that's not what he meant when he asked me to wear it? What if I humiliate myself and ruin our friendship in the process?"

Mal sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, one of you needs to be upfront about it." Evie pointed out. Which was true. Nearly every couple they knew had that one person that got up the nerve to do the asking. Ben asked Mal to go to coronation with him. Evie asked Doug out on a date. Carlos asked Jane to go to Cotillion with him. Heck, even Audrey instigated her relationship with Chad. The point was, there needed to be someone to start it.

"You could wait a bit." Mal admitted. "If Jay, however unlikely, didn't understand the meaning behind you wearing his jacket, he will very soon. The guys are probably ribbing him about it as we speak. If he doesn't officially ask you out in, like, a week, then you need to do it yourself."

Evie nodded in agreement while Gabby suddenly felt very nauseous.

"Do I have to?" she asked worriedly.

"If you don't, we will." Evie declared firmly, pointing between herself and Mal, who eyed her best friend before consenting.

Gabby sighed and nodded slowly in agreement. "Okay. But…two weeks." she bartered.

Evie and Mal exchanged doubtful glances before reluctantly agreeing.

"Good. Can we go back out there now?" Mal asked. "I can smell the pizza cooking from here. I'm starving." With that, Mal turned and marched back out of the bathroom. Gabby and Evie followed, though Gabby was a bit more hesitant. She was seriously wondering if Mal or Evie were going to just randomly decide to talk to Jay tonight.

They all returned to their seats and Jay glanced over at Gabby as she sat next to him. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Gabby asked quietly, sounding fairly believable.

"You're face is a little red." Jay pointed out curiously. Of course, Gabby's blush intensified at the reminder and Jay chuckled. "Guess that answers that." he joked. Gabby shoved his arm, unable to smother a small smile of her own.

"I'm good." she whispered.

"Evie didn't embarrass you too much in the girls' bathroom?" Jay teased lightly.

Gabby tried and failed to smother an amused smile. She decided not to embarrass herself more by responding.

Soon after, the pizza was brought out and laid out on the many tables. People passed around plates of different slices for the people who couldn't reach certain flavors from their seats. Having already tried a pepperoni pizza at school, Gabby decided to try one slice each of cheese, sausage, and mushroom. She found she may be addicted to all of them, especially sausage. The greasy, cheesy flavor with little bursts of salty and spicy in every piece of Italian sausage. It was a party for her taste buds.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you like it." Jay teased, his mouth partially full with his own pizza.

Gabby nodded earnestly, her eyes wide. Gooey cheese was hanging from her lips from her last bite. When Jay laughed, she blushed, covered her mouth with a hand, and swallowed her bite before laughing along with him.

 **AN: I hope everyone liked this chapter. Review and let me know what you all thought, please! I don't say this enough, but reviews make my day! I really appreciate hearing what you all think!**

 **I hope I did okay with Gabby's little freak out at the meet. I tried to make it seem like her thoughts were rambling slightly as she realized she liked Jay, like she was over thinking it a little bit. I think I succeeded?**

 **I also introduced a few more new OCs in the Photography club. Everyone pretty much guessed who Tara's parents are pretty easily; yes, it is Tarzan and Jane. Can anyone guess who the parents are for Aria, Aphrodite, and Kaito? At least one of them is probably pretty obvious, I think.**

 **Lastly, a little fun fact, since I made Lilo the teacher for the photography club, I made their classroom number 214. For anyone who watches** _ **Lilo and Stitch**_ **, especially the cartoon show, Stitch's cousin Experiment 214 is designed to take pictures. I like sneaking little details like that into my stories. I think it's fun. I do the same thing when I can when picking names for my characters, if that helps give clues to the parents of Aria, Aphrodite, and Kaito.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Ch 25**

"Come on, Dude! Sit still! Please?" Gabby begged, lowering the camera from her face.

Dude paused in scratching his chin with his back paw and looked up at her. "I am. It's only my leg that's moving."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Carlos. You're dog has an attitude."

Carlos laughed from a couple seats over at the picnic table. "I already knew that!"

"Tell you what," Dude spoke again, regaining Gabby's attention, "I can be extra cute and cooperative for food. Particularly that piece of bacon on your plate."

Gabby turned around to look at her tray on the picnic table. There was one more piece of bacon left on her plate.

"Okay." she agreed quickly. "You give me a few extra cute photos, and it's yours."

Dude lifted one forepaw, and they shook on it.

Jay snorted, shaking his head in amusement as he ate his own breakfast.

But the deal worked perfectly. Gabby got several adorable photos of the little brown mutt before her first class even started. Photos of him resting his chin on her knees and looking up at her with big, brown eyes; looking down at him laying on his back; laying in the grass with a leaf on his head; and him hiding his face under a paw. All in all, Gabby was pleased with her morning's work.

Later that day, after leaving her fourth class for the day, Gabby was approached by a very excitable Evie, who practically ripped Gabby's arm off in her excitement.

"Gabby, guess what? You'll never guess. I was just talking to Ben. He got approval from the council to bring the next set of kids over this week!" Evie practically squealed as they stood in the hallway. "They decided on Harry and Jace, Yzla, and Hermie, and they could be brought over as early as Wednesday! Isn't that amazing?!"

Gabby laughed, partially because Evie's excitement was infectious, and partially because she was just as happy at the news. "That's amazing! You have to keep me updated! I want to be there to greet them when they arrive."

"Of course!" Evie agreed as if it were obvious. "That's part of why I'm telling you. Ben specifically asked if we could both be there, like when Dizzy and Hadie got here. And they'll know you better than any of us."

Gabby agreed as the two hurried off to their next class together.

*~0~*

The rest of Monday, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday, dragged on almost as slowly as her days on the Isle where she just sat around the hideout. She was relieved when King Ben confirmed that Harry, Jace, Yzla, and Hermie were coming Wednesday afternoon. If they'd come on Thursday, it would have interfered with her photography club. Of course, she would have chosen to greet her fellow Anti-Heroes over attending photography club, but she was excited to see what pointers Lilo and the others had about the photos she'd taken so far.

So, after classes on Wednesday, Gabby joined Evie, Ben, Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Fairy Godmother in front of the school. They waited eagerly for the limo to arrive. After what felt like ages, but was more like ten minutes, a long, black limo rounded the corner and pulled up in front of the castle.

Gabby waited with her breath held as the back door of the limo opened and four people stepped out into the sunlight. Yzla stepped out first, the blue highlights in her hair shining in the sun as she stared around in amazement. Hermie followed her out, barely coming up to Yzla's shoulders. Jace came next, towering over both girls in a slender, beanpole stature. His cousin Harry followed him out, looking like a shorter, pudgier clone of his cousin. They were both even wearing green beanies over their short, black hair.

The four teens were much more reserved than Dizzy and Hadie had been when they arrived. But they still all looked around with slightly-widened eyes, and gaping mouths in Jace and Harry's cases.

Hermie's face lit up slightly when she saw Gabby. "Gabby!" she exclaimed before wincing and glancing around at the others, clearly knowing she's not supposed to react in such a way on the Isle. But they weren't on the Isle anymore. Gabby grinned and approached them, giving Hermie a hug. Hermie relaxed and returned it eagerly.

"You look different." Yzla announced to Gabby when she finally pulled away from Hermie. Yzla stepped forward and hugged Gabby next, her arms not nearly as tight as Hermie's had been.

"Evie's been having fun redesigning my wardrobe." Gabby teased lightly, glancing back at Evie. Gabby was currently wearing a new black leather jacket that had red and green embroidered roses and stems down both sleeves, a red tank top, and black skinny jeans.

"Don't pretend you don't love it." Evie joked back, stepping forward to greet the new villain kids.

It was about five minutes of the typical meet-and-greet that Gabby, Dizzy, and Hadie received when they arrived in Auradon. King Ben and Fairy Godmother introduced themselves to the new kids. Harry and Jace were excited to be reunited with Carlos, and Gabby could tell their friendship would grow stronger in Auradon than it ever could have on the Isle.

After pleasantries were exchanged, the large group split up. King Ben and Fairy Godmother had business they each needed to attend to, and Mal had to go with Ben to assist him in his Kingly duties as his Lady of the Court. This left Gabby and Evie to show Yzla and Hermie to their dorm and give them a tour of the grounds while Jay and Carlos did the same with Harry and Jace. Hermie was also carrying around a large box of different plants she'd saved from her rooftop garden back on the Isle. Gabby and Evie both agreed to help her find someplace she could replant them.

As expected, Yzla and Hermie were amazed by their dorm room, though they weren't thrilled with the frilly, pink decorations. Evie assured them they could decorate their room however they wanted, and she would be more than happy to help.

*~0~*

Gabby waved a quick goodbye to Evie and Yzla at their lockers before hurrying off to Photography Club the next day. She got there about five minutes before 4:00 and greeted Tara and Aria as she sat with them. They were talking about an assignment in Enchanted Forestry they'd received that day when Lilo came rushing into the room.

"Okay, I'm going to start by apologizing for all this last minute bologna." Lilo announced, setting her bag on a nearby desk before moving around with a pile of papers that she passed to each of them. "This was not my idea. Fairy Godmother decided to randomly have a Photo Gallery, hosted by Auradon Prep. It's next Friday, a week from tomorrow."

"Jeez. Doesn't get much more last minute than that, does it?" Tara asked as she looked over the paper Lilo handed her. Gabby was also looking over her own copy while partially listening to Lilo speak.

"I know. Believe me, I get it." Lilo agreed as she finished passing out the papers and stood in front of them all. "Fairy Godmother just wants to host something here at the school. She'll be inviting people from all over Auradon, and she's hoping to bring in some donations for the school. An advantage of this event is that Fairy Godmother will be giving a portion of any profits to the Photography Club, to be used for equipment and whatever else we may need."

Aphrodite raised her hand. "Is the gallery just for show, or are we selling our work?"

"That's completely up to you." Lilo answered. "If you want to sell any, we'll discuss pricing and put a price tag on them. If you don't want to sell any, we just won't put a price tag. And Fairy Godmother has decided that the money brought in from selling the photos will be split 50/50. So, half the money your photos bring in will go to you, and the other half will go to the school, which also means some of it will go to the Photography Club."

"And we can submit photos of anything?" Aria checked.

Lilo smiled. "Yes. But a variety might be a good idea. So not too many photos of Dalmatians." she teased, making everyone chuckle at Aria's tendency to take photos of the Dalmatians at her parents' Dalmatian Plantation.

"Will we have time to take photos and frame them for the gallery?" Aphrodite asked worriedly.

"We'll certainly do our best." Lilo assured her. "I'm sure you all have a decent collection of photos to start with, and we can spend our time today getting them edited. I can get them professionally printed sometime this week. If you want to get any other photos taken during the week until we meet next, you're more than welcomed to do that. Our next meeting next Thursday will be dedicated to putting the finishing touches on your photos, printing them, and framing them. I will, of course, be here to help you all with that. In fact, I'll be coming in here at our usual meeting time everyday next week for anyone who wants to come in and work on their photos. And of course, if you don't want to enter anything in the gallery, that's perfectly fine, though I encourage you all to at least try."

Gabby swallowed nervously as she listened to all this and read over the sheet of paper describing the gallery's requirements. She'd discovered that she genuinely enjoyed photography. It was relaxing and she could be creative with little effort. And it was amazing how different everything looked through a camera lens, even the same photo from a different angle or time of day. But did she really want random strangers looking at her photos? It almost felt like an invasion of privacy. She hadn't even shown her friends very many of her photos. She'd shown Carlos the ones she took of Dude, after all it was _his_ dog, but that was really it.

When Lilo finished speaking, everyone got up and sat at a computer, plugging in their cameras to download their photos and begin editing them. Tara helped Gabby with that, as she hadn't done it before. Meanwhile, everyone was talking excitedly about the coming gallery. Many were a bit annoyed at the last minute notice, but they were mostly excited. Gabby, on the other hand, wasn't. And Tara picked up on that quickly.

"Are you going to submit any photos?" she asked curiously as she began editing her first photo, mostly cropping it a bit.

Gabby hummed, trying to mostly focus on the computer program on her screen as she pulled up her first photo like Tara showed her. "I don't think so." she admitted quietly.

"Why not?" Tara asked, glancing over at Gabby's computer. "That's a good photo. You could make the colors a bit brighter and it'd be perfect."

Gabby glanced at her before looking back at the photo she was trying to edit. It was a close-up of Gingersnap's face, a bit of the background visible on one side. Under Tara's guidance, Gabby used the program to edit the vibrancy, making Gingersnap's red feathers much brighter, the few shadows a bit more pronounced, and the small background blurred out. When finished, Gabby had to admit to herself that it was beautiful. She was half-tempted to frame it and just hang it in her dorm. But it would probably make her beloved bird's already inflated ego even bigger.

"So, why don't you want to submit any photos?" Tara asked again after seemingly dropping the subject earlier. "You don't have to sell any if you don't want to."

"It's not that." Gabby admitted quietly, having moved on to edit another photo. "I'm just not sure I'm comfortable with people looking at my photos. Besides, they're not that good."

"Says who?" Tara asked, her wide blue-green eyes staring at Gabby in disbelief. Then, she scooted her chair a bit closer to Gabby's. "Let me see what you've got so far." she ordered, not even letting Gabby answer her first question. Gabby hesitated, but relented and pulled up the screen that showed all the photos she'd taken so far. Gabby expected Tara to do one of two things; tell her her photos weren't very good, or exaggerate how great they were, which Gabby would've taken as a lie. But she did neither. Tara sat with Gabby for several minutes, quickly going from one photo to the next and giving Gabby pointers. She made suggestions on how to edit some of the photos, or what to do next time to take a better photo. Tara also let Gabby watch as she edited her own photos, to give her ideas. Gabby appreciated her help immensely. By the end of the club meeting, there were a couple photos Gabby deemed good enough to _maybe_ submit for the photo gallery.

Before everyone left for the day, Lilo had them send any photos they had completed so far to her, so she could have them printed during the week before their next meeting. She also convinced Gabby to send the two pictures Gabby considered good enough. Gabby was the last person to leave, still sitting at the computer ten minutes after everyone else had left. She was trying to look up ideas for some new photos she could take during the following week that would be better than the ones she'd taken so far. Those had been her…testing the water, so to speak. Practicing. But she wanted to have something better than that to show at the gallery.

When Jay wandered into the classroom a little while later, he found Gabby still sitting at a computer looking up random photos on the internet.

"What are you doing?" Jay asked curiously, making her jump as he placed his hands on the back of her chair and looked at the screen from over her head.

Gabby sighed after getting over the short fright he gave her. "I'm just trying to get ideas for pictures." she admitted quietly, closing out of all the screens so she could go. She made sure to save all her edited pictures before closing out of those, as well. She then grabbed her backpack and the camera bag she rented for another week before turning and following Jay out of the room.

"So, how'd today go?" Jay asked curiously after they walked a few moments in silence.

"It was…terrifying." Gabby finally answered, partially joking.

Jay smirked slightly when he glanced over at her. "Oh really? And what was so terrifying about it?"

Gabby sighed and passed him the sheet of paper that Lilo had given her earlier, the one describing the photo gallery. Jay read it over as they walked through the halls.

"You going to enter?" he asked, passing it back to her and focusing on her face.

"I already picked a couple photos I've taken to submit. We can submit up to ten." Gabby explained. "Everyone told me I should submit some, but I don't think I'm good enough compared to the others."

"It's taking pictures. Everyone in our generation does it. You aim the camera and shoot." Jay waved it off, not understanding why she was making such a big deal out of it.

"You haven't seen some of the pictures the other kids in the club have taken." Gabby argued. "They're all way better than me. It's like…like I'm wearing a sack surrounded by people in fancy dresses."

Jay stared at her as they walked. "You don't feel good enough." he summed up.

"I'm _not_ good enough." Gabby reiterated stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"You just need practice." Jay argued. "You'd never even picked up a camera before you joined the club, like, a week ago. Some of those kids have probably been doing it for years."

Gabby nodded silently, though she didn't look reassured. Jay thought for a moment before he got an idea. Hopefully, an idea that would benefit them both if he played his cards right.

"You said this gallery is next Friday, right?" he checked, to which she nodded. "So, Thursday is your last club meeting before the gallery. So, you need to have your pictures done by Thursday, I'm guessing." Again, Gabby nodded, now looking at him curiously. "So, you're best bet to get some good pictures is probably the weekend. What if I took you around to some places in Auradon that might be good for photos?" Jay offered.

Gabby's blue eyes lit up. "Really?! You'd do that?"

Jay laughed at her enthusiastic response. She never used to be like that back on the Isle. "Sure. I'll figure some places out and maybe we could go out Saturday."

Gabby nodded eagerly and they continued on down the hallway, Jay silently both relieved and disappointed that she didn't pick up on the double meaning in his term "go out".

*~0~*

As soon as Jay returned to his dorm that evening, his plopped down on his bed and pulled out his laptop, typing away. Carlos watched him curiously as he and Dude followed, approaching Carlos's own bed.

"Forgot about that essay for History of Woodsmen and Pirates due tomorrow?" Carlos teased.

"No." Jay scoffed. "…I finished that during Safety Rules for the Internet earlier."

Carlos snorted. "Then what are you looking up?"

Jay glanced briefly at his best friend. "I'm just…trying to get ideas on where to take Gabby this Saturday." he admitted quietly.

Carlos stared at him in shock. "You finally asked her out?"

"No. Not technically." Jay answered vaguely.

"Then what did you _technically_ do?" Carlos asked, growing more curious by the second.

"She needs to take some pictures for this photo gallery next week. I thought I could take her around Auradon and get some good pictures." Jay answered, looking up good tourist spots in Auradon.

"Oh, Jane was telling me about that." Carlos remembered. "Her mom wants her to help plan it."

Jay hummed, not quite paying attention as he tried to find places that were nearby and could offer a variety of good photos.

Carlos tilted his head slightly as he watched his best friend. He'd never seen Jay this worked up over any girl. Except Gabby. "Hey," an idea popped into his head, "what about the Enchanted Lake?"

Jay paused and looked over. "What?"

"The Enchanted Lake. Ben took Mal there for their first date, remember?"

Jay paused before quickly looking up photos of the lake on his laptop. What he saw made his face light up.

"That's perfect!"

 **AN: Aw! Look at Jay getting all worked up over a girl!**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter! Most of you who guessed who my OCs are got them right. Kaito is the son of Kida and Milo from** _ **Atlantis**_ **; I was actually surprised most people guessed that one since** _ **Atlantis**_ **is a pretty underrated film. Aria is the daughter of Roger and Anita Radcliffe from** _ **101 Dalmatians**_ **. No one got Aphrodite, which didn't really surprise me. Someone came pretty close. Her parent/parents isn't necessarily a well-known or main character. If you guys want to keep guessing, go for it. I'll probably officially reveal it no later than chapter 27.**

 **Anyway, feel free to review and let me know what you thought of this chapter! I really like hearing what you all think!**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Mild warning of typical hormonal-teenage-type thoughts in this chapter. Nothing too serious though.**

 **Ch 26**

Gabby stared at herself in the mirror. She felt like she did this a thousand times more often than she ever did when she lived on the Isle of the Lost. She was wearing a comfy, dark gray t-shirt with a red plaid flannel shirt over it, a pair of blue jeans, and black combat boots. And she'd already changed her outfit three times in the last ten minutes.

She didn't know why she was making such a big deal out of this particular Saturday. Jay was just going to take her to a few places in Auradon in the hopes she'd find some good places for pictures. It's not like it was a date. Because it wasn't. And she wasn't going to delude herself into thinking it was. So there was no reason for her to care about her hair or clothes. And yet, she couldn't seem to help herself.

Gabby was just considering changing her clothes again when there was a knock on her dorm door. Freddie groaned in her bed and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her face. As quietly as she could so she didn't wake her roommate, Gabby grabbed her bag, which contained her camera bag. She looked at her bedpost and whistled quietly. Gingersnap flew to Gabby's shoulder in an instant, thrilled to be out of the dorm room. Gabby wasn't allowed to take her to classes since the one time she attempted to do so, her faithful parrot decided to make inappropriate comments for the whole class, and the teacher, to hear.

With her bag and Gingersnap on her shoulder, Gabby stepped out of her dorm and into the hall to be met by Jay. He grinned when he saw her, and she couldn't help returning the gesture.

"Morning." Jay greeted her before they turned and began walking down the hall.

"Good morning." Gabby answered while Gingersnap hopped from Gabby's shoulder to Jay's. Jay grinned while scratching the parrot's head. "So, where're we going?"

"Breakfast." Jay answered.

But when Gabby turned to head toward the school's cafeteria, Jay gently grabbed her arm and steered her in a different direction.

"Not here." Jay answered as they headed for the parking lot. "We're going out for breakfast, then we'll head to one or two places for your pictures."

Gabby remained curiously silent as she followed Jay to a small, blue car, which he unlocked with a key remote.

"Where'd you get this car?" Gabby asked curiously as she climbed into the front passenger seat. Gingersnap returned to her shoulder so Jay could focus on driving.

"Ben loaned it to me for the day." Jay answered with a small grin. "We can't really walk to where we're going, because it'd take all day."

"Okay. And where, exactly, are we going?" Gabby asked, glancing out the window as they drove down the road.

"First; breakfast. The rest is partially up to you, but I'm still keeping it a surprise."

"How can I decide if I don't know the options?" Gabby asked, glancing at him curiously.

Jay merely grinned as he drove.

After about five minutes, they pulled up in front of a small brick building with a sign in the window reading 'Mad for Tea'.

"How are we paying for this?" Gabby asked suddenly, looking over at him and not getting out of the car. "I don't have any money."

"Relax. I've been saving up, and this place is pretty cheap." Jay assured her as he stepped out. Gabby slowly followed him.

"What about Gingersnap?" she asked, her parrot still perched comfortably on her shoulder and looking around curiously.

"As long as she behaves, she's allowed in. I already checked." Jay answered, holding the door to the café open for her. The windows were decorated with stained glass pictures. Mismatched tables and chairs were spread around the building, giving the place a comfortable, casual feel. And the whole place was covered in Wonderland-themed decorations. A giant rug under one of the tables looked like a playing card; above a fireplace were shelves of flowerpots, teapots, and fake mushrooms; the Cheshire Cat's smile was on the wall, and the clock hanging from the ceiling looked like a pocket watch.

Jay lead the way to the counter in the back, where there was a display case of all kinds of foods.

"I'll have a black coffee and a breakfast sandwich." Jay told the girl behind the till. He glanced down at Gabby. "What do you want?"

"Uh…" Gabby hesitated, skimming over the menu. "I guess I'll try…a cappuccino and…a cinnamon bagel?" she ordered uncertainly. She'd heard of cappuccinos from Tara, who brought one to class one time, and she liked how it smelled.

"Coming right up." the blonde girl told them in a sort of accent. She told Jay the total, which he paid, and she told them they'd bring their order out shortly. So, Jay lead Gabby over to a comfy blue couch that had it's back facing the window.

"So, you've been here before?" Gabby guessed as they sat down, Jay leaning back with his legs spread like a typical guy.

"A few times, yeah. The girl at the counter was Ally, the daughter of Alice from that Wonderland story." Jay told her.

Gabby hummed quietly and looked around the building, liking how casual the place looked, yet it was nicely decorated at the same time. Plus the Wonderland theme was amazing and fun. There was a warm fire going in the fireplace, too.

Ally came over in that moment and placed their order on the round, wood table in front of them. "Enjoy."

While Jay instantly reached for his food, Gabby slowly reached for her mug, but paused. It was a small, white mug sitting on a small plate with a tiny spoon on the side. The drink inside was a creamy brown color was a blob of white foam in the middle. Curious, Gabby picked up the spoon and lightly poked the white spot. When it moved and distorted a bit, Gabby couldn't help smiling. She lightly dragged the spoon over the middle of the foam, making it change shape and look a bit like a round heart. Struck by inspiration, Gabby quickly opened her bag and grabbed her camera, fumbling slightly in her haste.

Aiming the camera carefully, Gabby snapped several photos of her mug of cappuccino from different angles, even including the fireplace in the background a couple times. She even took a couple pictures with both her drink and Jay's coffee before she realized Jay was watching her with an amused grin.

Sheepishly, Gabby turned off her camera and put it away. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Jay chuckled lightly. "That's what this trip is for, right?"

Gabby nodded shyly, finally picking up her mug and taking a sip. She hummed at the taste and took another, longer sip before taking a bite of her bagel.

"So," Jay spoke while chewing, brushing his hands off, "what kind of pictures would you prefer? Lake or harbor?"

Gabby looked at him in confusion. "Um,…I don't know. What kind of harbor?"

"Like…a harbor." Jay answered as if it were obvious. "You know, by the shore, with a bunch of boats and things. Or a lake in the woods."

Gabby blinked. "Well,…probably the lake."

Jay nodded once. "I figured. You'll like this place. I haven't been there before, but it's pretty easy to find, and Carlos showed me a map on the computer. You'll love it."

Gabby smiled. "I bet I will." she agreed easily.

They finished eating their breakfast, and before they knew it they were back in the car and driving somewhere that Gabby couldn't even begin to guess. Seeing as she'd never really gone anywhere in Auradon outside of school grounds, she had no idea where they were.

After about a twenty minute drive, Jay parked the car in a small parking lot by the woods that only had a couple others cars. Gabby slowly got out, her eyes traveling around the towering trees surrounding them in all directions.

"I think it's this way." Jay told her, leading the way to a small path in the trees.

"'You think'." Gabby repeated. "Famous last words, right?" she joked.

"Oh, shut up." Jay laughed. "The map said this path was a straight shot to the lake. As long as we don't take any detours, we'll be fine."

Gabby nodded and followed him into the trees, staying on the worn path that wove through the trees and undergrowth. She was relieved she decided to wear boots and clothes fit for walking.

Gabby was looking around in amazement as they walked, having already pulled out her camera to take pictures of the different trees and flowers. She even got a couple pictures of Gingersnap, who decided to fly ahead and perch in a tree. The green leaves in the background contrasted perfectly with Gingersnap's red feathers.

Gabby was so entranced by the beautiful sights it took her a surprisingly long time to notice that the peaceful sounds of the woods were gradually being drowned out by the sound of roaring water in the distance.

Gabby glanced curiously at Jay, because that certainly didn't sound like a lake, but he merely grinned and continued on along the path. Gabby followed him, and it wasn't long before they reached a rope bridge. Gabby paused and gaped. The ground before them sloped down into a steep hill, but the path continued out onto a long rope bridge that stretched out over a river below.

"It that safe to cross?" she asked Jay, glancing over at him.

Jay nodded. "Yeah, they monitor the bridge. It's sturdy." he promised, reaching out and shaking the thick rope that made up the handrail. "Come on." he said, stepping out onto the rope bridge. He went a few steps before looking back at her. Seeing that she hadn't followed yet, he offered a hand back to her. "It's safe. Trust me." Jay told her earnestly, staring into her eyes. Gabby stared back before reaching out a hand and taking his. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she stepped out onto the bridge with him, his hand warm and rough in hers.

Jay grinned and turned around to lead the way out on the bridge, one hand on the rope and his other still holding hers. Gabby, following along behind him, gaped around at the view. When they neared the middle of the bridge, she gasped and tugged on Jay's hand. He stopped and turned to look back at her, but she was staring out at the scenery that went perpendicular to the bridge. Following her gaze, Jay found she was staring at the waterfall that was feeding the river that ran below the bridge.

Gabby let go of Jay's hand and pulled her camera up from where a strap hung it from her neck. She quickly snapped several pictures of the waterfall, as well as the forest surrounding it, and the river on the opposite side of the bridge.

Through all this, Jay waited patiently. Though Gabby didn't realize, Jay was enjoying this at much as she was. He was watching her with a smile on his face, loving how genuinely happy she was. Sure, she'd been happy since coming to Auradon, but he felt like it would never completely make up for her lifetime of grief and pain on the Isle. But in moments like this, watching her face light up as she eagerly snapped several pictures of the beautiful sights, it made Jay wish he'd brought her over so much sooner.

When Gabby eventually stopped taking pictures, she sheepishly turned to Jay and apologized for getting carried away, which Jay brushed off and assured her they had all day. With that, he turned and lead the rest of the way across the bridge. They passed through another stretch of forest before Jay looked ahead through the undergrowth and grinned. He pointed and grinned at Gabby, waiting for her to see.

Gabby followed where Jay's finger was pointing, and her mouth fell open in amazement. Through the bushes was a beautiful, crystal clear lake surrounded by rocks and bushes and cliffs. And right on the edge of the lake was a stone platform with some old, broken-down pillars.

Unable to take her eyes off the beautiful sight, Gabby fumbled to grab her camera and began taking pictures of the pillars and lake in the distance. After a few, she paused and slowly lowered the camera to cast Jay a sheepish glance. He merely grinned.

"Relax. Take as many pictures as you need. Just don't run out of memory before the day's done." he teased, winking before continuing on ahead of her. Gabby couldn't help a large smile as she followed him through the trees. The dirt ground eventually gave way to large, semi-flat boulders. Jay offered Gabby a hand and helped her over the boulders until they reached the flat stone that held the pillars. While Gabby moved to the other side, toward one of the pillars, Jay took off his backpack and jacket, placing them on the ground. He then slipped off his shoes and socks, rolling up his pants so he could sit with his feet in the water.

Gabby took several photos of the pillars, especially with the vines and purple flowers growing up the stone. She also took pictures of the lake and cliffs nearby. Then movement in the shallow water near her feet caught her eye. Looking down, she saw little fish swimming around. Crouching on the edge of the platform, Gabby aimed the camera down. The water was clear and looked like rippling glass. She could see all the way down to the bottom, which was covered in rocks and pebbles of all sizes and colors. She even got a couple pictures of the pillars' reflections in the water.

When she finally pulled the camera from her face, she looked around, suddenly remembering she wasn't alone. Her eyes found Jay, who was sitting on the opposite edge of the platform, his feet dangling in the water as he leaned back on his hands. He'd taken off his jacket, the same one he'd loaned to her that night of the meet, and was dressed in a charcoal-gray tank top, a black beanie, and blue cargo pants that he had rolled up to keep them out of the water.

Gabby took off her shoes and rolled up her pants before joining him, sitting next to him and letting her feet drop into the cool water.

"Get some good pictures?" Jay asked, looking over at her.

Gabby smiled and nodded. "Yeah. This place is amazing. Thanks for bringing me here."

Jay grinned. "No problem. You want to go somewhere else to take some more, or do you want to chill here for awhile?"

Gabby hummed, looking around and taking in the peaceful atmosphere around the lake. Then, she glanced down at her camera. "I think I've got enough pictures. We can hang out here for awhile. What do you want to do?"

Jay grinned, looking around. "Want to go swimming?"

Gabby paused. "What?"

"Swimming. Come on, the water's perfect." Jay insisted, lightly kicking a leg to the side to splash her leg.

"Uh, hate to break it to you, but I don't have a swimsuit. And I'm _not_ skinny-dipping with you." Gabby told him sternly.

Jay laughed, trying not to feel awkward at the thought of skinny-dipping with Gabby. But once the image was in his mind, shaking it was easier said than done. Maybe a swim in the cool water would help. "Fine. Be that way. I'm gonna swim for a bit. Watch my hat." He took off his black beanie and shoved it onto her head, covering her eyes for a moment.

Gabby laughed, shoving the beanie up onto her head. She noticed Jay was stripping down to his black boxers. She blushed and looked away, pretending to look across the lake. His boxers were loose and basically resembled swim trunks, so that wasn't necessarily the issue. Gabby had never really forgotten how fit Jay was, but seeing it all with only shorts to cover anything was still a lot to take in. His muscles rippled with even the slightest movement, and his bronzed skin was smooth apart from the few scars that littered his body. One scar in particular was more than a few inches long across his abs, and Gabby could vividly remember the night Jafar gave Jay that scar, slashing his stomach with a knife meant for Gabby.

When Jay was down to only his boxers, he disappeared into the trees, much to Gabby's confusion. Couldn't he just jump into the lake where he was?

Her answer came a couple minutes later, when Jay appeared on top of a small cliff across the short distance of the lake. Gabby laughed and instinctively pulled the camera up toward her face. Jay waved at her before looking down into the water far below. Gabby snapped a few pictures while he stood there. The sun made his tan skin glow, and his skin, brown hair, and black shorts stood out beautifully against the green pine branches behind him.

Gabby took a few more pictures as Jay jumped, all the way down to the water below, catching his descent in multiple pictures. She put the camera back down as Jay resurfaced. His long, soaked hair looked black, strands sticking to his face and neck. Watching him swim, Gabby thought about the agreement she'd made with Evie and Mal. She had to tell Jay she liked him within two weeks of the last R.O.A.R. meet, which left her another week to do so. Then, randomly, a phrase popped into her head. Something unrelated, but gave her a burst of inspiration.

 _"Let yourself be inspired."_ It was something Lilo said to her at her first photography club meeting. Was it too cheesy to think that Jay inspired her? She'd taken more pictures today of the places he'd thought to bring her than she'd taken in the past couple weeks; several of those pictures were of Jay himself. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. She was taking amazing photos, at least, she hoped she was. Maybe she could use some of those photos to her advantage. She could use her photos, her _inspiration_ , to tell Jay that she likes him.

She didn't realize how long she'd been thinking, a plan coming to fruition in her mind, until she was dragged from her thoughts by water lapping a bit higher up her legs. She glanced down at Jay, who'd lightly splashed her legs to get her attention as he swam up to the platform. He rested his arms next to her, the rest of him floating behind him in the shallows of the lake.

"I'm getting kinda hungry. You?" Jay asked, looking curiously up at her.

Gabby glanced upward and realized the sun was high in the sky. It was at least noon, maybe a little later. Her stomach also rumbled in agreement with Jay's announcement.

"Yeah. Where're we going?" Gabby asked, getting ready to get up.

"Nowhere. Open my bag. I've got a towel in there, which I need. And there's some food I packed for lunch."

Gabby blinked for a moment, unsure how to handle this new information, before brushing it off and getting up to do as he asked. She opened his backpack, which was sitting upon his jacket, and pulled out a red towel. She passed it to Jay as he reached her side, avidly avoiding looking at his dripping, shirtless self as she reached back into the bag to start pulling out the food she found inside. There were sandwiches, a few cans of soda, a bag of potato chips, and a couple containers of grapes and strawberries.

Sitting down among the food, Gabby put her camera in her own bag and took off her flannel, the warm sun beating down on her making her plenty warm.

"So, you happy with your pictures?" Jay asked after swallowing a bite of a sandwich.

Gabby nodded after swallowing her own bite. "Yes. Thank you again for all this. You didn't have to do this."

Jay shrugged. "I wanted to. And it was fun. I've never been here before, either."

Gabby smiled around a sip of soda. "Well, thank you anyway. I'm glad we did this."

Jay smiled back at her. "Me, too."

*~0~*

They stayed at the lake for most of the day, stopping at Tony's for dinner on the way back. By the time they returned to the school, the sun was starting to sink toward the horizon. Gingersnap was lightly dozing on Gabby's shoulder, leaning against her head.

As they approached the front of the castle, Gabby slowed her walk, her eyes drawn to the magnificent bronze statue perched outside the front of the castle. The sun was setting just behind it, turning the copper color to a blazing gold. Entranced, Gabby pulled her camera out of her bag for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She carefully aimed up at the statue, standing just to the front and side of it, and snapped a few pictures. Jay shook his head good-naturedly, waiting for her to do her thing before they could go inside.

Gabby returned her camera to her bag and continued after Jay. They walked to her dorm room together in companionable silence, walking so close their arms occasionally brushed. When they reached her door, she turned and looked up at him.

"Today was fun." she told him quietly.

"Yeah, it was. We should do it again sometime." Jay suggested, trying to be subtle while hoping next time would be an actual date.

Gabby shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'd like that." she admitted quietly.

Jay subtly took in a deep breath. That sounded like the perfect moment. He should ask her on a date. A real, actual date. He could do it. How hard could it be?

"Hey, Gabby, um…maybe sometime…would you want to-?"

"Excuse me! Can I not get into my own dorm?" Freddie asked loudly, appearing out of nowhere and pushing past Jay and Gabby to get to the door. Gabby quickly sidestepped, allowing her roommate to go inside. Freddie certainly hadn't picked up many good manners in her time in Auradon.

Jay cleared his throat awkwardly, figuring the moment had passed. "Um, well, anyway…I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

Gabby wanted to ask him what he'd been about to say before Freddie interrupted, but she knew he wouldn't say it if he was uncomfortable. She didn't want to push him. "Yeah. Goodnight."

Jay smiled. "Night."

He walked away kicking himself for missing the opportunity.

 **AN: Man, Freddie sure has awful timing, huh? Poor Jay. But don't hate me too much! It won't be long now! *wink wink***

 **Also, just for the heck of it, here are some clues from the last few chapters you might have missed as to who Aphrodite's parent(s) is/are. There still hasn't been a successful guess yet, though a few have come** _ **so very**_ **close.**

 _ **A beautiful girl with sleek, black hair, fair skin, and**_ **sea blue eyes** _ **greeted her with a radiant smile. "I'm Aphrodite. I love you hair! It's beautiful."**_

" _ **Oh! You have to see these pictures I took at**_ **home** _ **over the weekend!" she announced, eagerly turning on the**_ **pink digital camera on her desk that was in a clear, plastic case** _ **. She began eagerly showing them**_ **underwater photos** _ **of schools of fish and colorful coral and plants.**_


	27. Chapter 27

**Ch 27**

"E, I beg of you. Don't make me wear heels." Gabby pleaded. "I'm going to be on my feet for _at least_ three hours, and I'm already nervous enough to be nauseous, I don't need blisters on top of that."

Evie rolled her eyes, passing Gabby an outfit and shoving her toward Mal and Evie's dorm's bathroom. "Oh, don't be dramatic. I think you'll like the shoes I picked out."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Sure." she agreed sarcastically as she shut the door and began changing.

"Besides, I don't know why you're so nervous." Evie called through the door while Gabby changed. "I'm sure you're pictures are beautiful. Aria was telling me you're a fast learner and your photos are beautiful."

"I'm sure she was just being nice." Gabby argued simply. "And that's not the only reason I'm nervous." she added more quietly, almost hoping Evie didn't hear. She did, of course.

"Why else are you nervous?" Evie asked lightly. "Could it _maybe_ have something to do with the fact that tonight is the night you have to tell Jay how you feel? Because remember, if you don't tell him…" Evie trailed off, not needing to finish. Gabby knew Evie would either tell Jay herself or force them to talk. Gabby wouldn't be surprised if Evie locked them in a closet together until one of them fessed up.

"That might have something to do with it." Gabby muttered in embarrassment, stepping out of the bathroom in her new outfit that Evie designed. At the sight of her, Evie clapped her hands once with a wide grin.

"You look amazing. Now, for your hair." Evie announced, taking the clothes Gabby had changed out of and ushering her into a chair in the middle of the room. While Evie was loosely curling Gabby's black and red hair, a nearly-frantic round of knocking sounded on the door. A second later, Dizzy came hurrying in, slamming the door behind her in her haste.

"I'm not too late, am I?" Dizzy demanded breathlessly.

"Too late for what?" Evie asked, pulling the hot curling iron away from Gabby's hair before pausing curiously.

"Well, I made something for Gabby." Dizzy admitted sheepishly. "You know, for tonight." she added, glancing at Gabby. She looked both anxious and excited.

Gabby chuckled. "You didn't have to do that, Dizzy. But thank you. What is it?"

Dizzy hurried forward and pulled something from behind her back. It was a simple hair clip with a couple small, crimson-colored roses.

"It's not my most unique work," Dizzy admitted, "but I found these fake roses and thought they'd be a nice touch with your outfit for tonight, so I hot glued them to a hairclip."

"Perfect." Evie plucked the clip from Dizzy's hands. She then pulled some hair back from Gabby's face and pinned it just behind her ear with the clip. "Now, your shoes and you're done."

Gabby groaned playfully as Evie hurried to her closet to grab the shoes. She returned a second later with a pair of brown suede ankle boots and placed them on the ground in front of Gabby's feet. Gabby slipped her feet into them and zipped them up before standing. The block heel was a small one, maybe an inch, so it wasn't as awful as Gabby was worrying about. She couldn't stand to wear the enormous heels Mal and Evie sometimes wore.

As soon as Gabby stood, Evie grabbed her arm and practically dragged her toward the full-length mirror nearby. As soon as Gabby saw her reflection, her mouth fell open. Sure, she was getting more and more used to how she looked, especially with Evie designing her outfits and doing her hair, but this look was still amazing in a different way.

Evie described the shirt and skirt as "Parisian chic street style". Whatever that was supposed to mean. The shirt was a simple, formfitting black shirt with sleeves that stopped just above her elbows. It was tucked into her simple red skirt that hugged her waist and flared out slightly, stopping at her knees. Of course, her shoes were the brown suede ankle boots. Finally, her black hair that faded into red was loosely curled just past her shoulders, with the strands near her face pinned back with the rose hairclip.

Gabby's hands rose to cover her smiling lips.

"So? Think you can handle the heels?" Evie asked teasingly, wrapping an arm around Gabby's shoulders.

Gabby laughed. "Yeah, I think I can handle it." After all, the heels were the least of her problems. This evening had her stomach in knots.

With her outfit done, Gabby left Evie and Dizzy to hurry down to the cafeteria, where the photo gallery was being hosted. It was due to start at 5:00, but Lilo wanted everyone in the photography club to be there a bit early to make sure everything was ready. They'd spent their meeting time the day before editing their photos, printing them, and framing them for the show so they were all ready. Then, right after school on Friday they all pitched in to get the cafeteria ready before going to get themselves ready for the show. A couple of the girls complained it wasn't a lot of time to get ready, but Gabby thought she had plenty of time. Of course, all she did was change clothes, and Evie did her hair for about fifteen minutes.

Gabby reached the cafeteria with ten minutes to spare, but she faltered as she neared the doors. There was a crowd of people already gathered around the door, probably waiting for it to open. Many of them were dressed up in suits and gowns, and some even wore crowns or tiaras, giving away their royal status. Gabby was just wondering how she was supposed to get inside, when Fairy Godmother spotted her from where she stood at the cafeteria doors.

"Ah, Gabby, head on in." she called, gesturing Gabby through the crowd. Gabby slipped through the doors and closed them behind her, taking a deep breath.

"Crazy out there, huh?" Tara asked with an amused grin.

Gabby chuckled as she approached the rest of the club members. "Only a little bit." she joked.

"I didn't think something this last minute would get this much attention." Aphrodite commented. She was dressed in a fairly simple lavender dress with sequins covering the bodice, her short, black hair curled. "But even my parents and some of my aunts are coming." she added excitedly. As most of her family lived in Atlantica, under the ocean, Aphrodite didn't get to see her family very often while in school.

"My parents are coming, too." Ruby announced, wearing a light pink skirt and white top, her long blonde hair pulled into a bun. "And Mom said Grandma and Grandpa might come, too."

Aria and Tara voiced similar announcements of their parents coming, making Gabby feel slightly awkward. After all, her family wouldn't be coming even if they could. And while she was fine with that, it still hurt that everyone else had families that loved them. So, she distracted herself by looking around the cafeteria to ensure everything looked okay.

They'd moved most of the long lunch tables to another room, but a couple of them lined a far wall, covered in platters of food, snacks, and drinks. The rest of the walls were covered in all kinds of framed photos, many of them with price tags on the frames. Gabby still felt amazed seeing several of her own photos scattered amongst the rest. She'd put price tags on most of them, at the insistence of others in the club, but she priced them fairly low compared to Tara and the others, as she was still an amateur. And some of them she wasn't comfortable selling.

"Alright, everything seems to be ready." Lilo announced, hurrying up to them. She was dressed in a red and white Hawaiian-style dress and sandal pump heels. "Everyone ready for me to open the doors?"

Everyone nodded or voiced their agreement, so Lilo approached the cafeteria doors, which had curtains over the windows to both hide what was inside as well as add to the décor. She opened them and spoke briefly to Fairy Godmother before they blocked the doors open. Gabby took a deep breath to calm her nerves as she watched the crowd enter the cafeteria.

As the crowd moved about the room, looking around at the photos or getting food, Gabby found herself feeling a bit overwhelmed. It didn't help that several people swarmed the rest of the photography club students, clearly the families they'd all mentioned earlier.

Kaito looked embarrassed as a woman with the same dark skin and white hair squeezed him in a hug while a man with big glasses and brown hair waited to do the same. Ruby was with her sister Anxelin and who Gabby guessed was their parents, Rapunzel and Eugene, as well as an older couple that must be their grandparents. Aphrodite was surrounded by several women who looked very different, yet similar. Gabby could recognize Ariel; the bright red hair gave her away. The other women were clearly some of Ariel's sisters; they all had similar faces but they had blonde, brown, or black hair. The one with short, black hair hugging the life out of Aphrodite was probably Aphrodite's mother, as they looked nearly identical.

Feeling slightly claustrophobic and uncomfortable, Gabby moved away from the crowd toward an empty corner of the large room. Taking a deep breath, Gabby merely watched people move around the cafeteria for a few moments.

Her peace didn't last long, but she actually didn't mind. She was both completely shocked and thrilled when she saw her friends walk through the doors. Jay was the first one to see her, and he returned her smile as he lead the others over to her.

"What are you guys doing here?" Gabby asked with a slight laugh as Evie hugged her.

"You seriously thought we wouldn't come and support you?" Evie asked.

Gabby looked around at the group of people who'd come at least to partially support her. Jay, Evie, Doug, Carlos, Jane, Mal, Ben, Lonnie, Dizzy, Hadie, Yzla, and Hermie. Gabby suddenly didn't feel left out about not having a family here for her. These people were her family. They'd been her family for much longer than her father and brothers were.

"Thanks, you guys." she told them sincerely, looking around at them all as they returned her smiles.

"So," Jay spoke after a few moments, "which ones are yours? You're going to give us the private tour, right?" he asked, partially joking.

" _You_ would probably recognize most of them," she told him, "considering you were there when I took most of them. Besides, all the photos have name tags on them. And, um, there're brochures by the food that has information about everyone in the club." she added to the others, pointing vaguely toward the food table.

Hadie instantly headed where she pointed, dragging Dizzy and Doug with him. The shyer boy had clearly latched onto Evie's boyfriend. Evie smiled and followed them while Ben and Mal wandered toward the nearest photo, hand-in-hand; Yzla and Hermie headed for the food table for some snacks; and Lonnie, Carlos, and Jane headed toward where Fairy Godmother stood near the entrance, probably to briefly talk with Jane's mother. After all, Jane had a hand in helping her mother set the whole gallery up.

Gabby glanced at Jay, who watched their friends wander off before looking back at her. He grinned and gestured with a hand for her to lead the way. She blushed, but headed for the nearest photo, Jay walking at her side. Gabby knew her face was still bright red as they walked around the room, mostly because she was nervous about his reaction to some of her photos he might not have been aware of.

"How many photos are yours?" Jay asked as they walked, pausing to admire a few other people's photos.

"Ten. That was the most we could submit." Gabby answered, smiling at Ruby's photo of a chameleon that was red, blue, purple, and green in an attempt to blend into the flower it was clinging to.

"Just ten? How'd you pick only ten?" Jay asked, partially teasing. "Didn't you take, like, a hundred just that one day?"

"Ha ha." Gabby laughed sarcastically at him, while he laughed for real. "It was kinda difficult to narrow it down." she admitted seriously as they slowly walked forward toward the next photo. "But the others in the club helped me, and…well, I mostly picked my best photos that also showed what inspires me most." she explained cryptically.

Jay glanced at her quizzically. "What does that mean?" he asked in confusion.

Gabby shrugged and glanced at him with what she hoped was a playful look. "Guess you'll just have to figure it out." she told him lightly.

Jay grinned and looked at the next photo before pausing. He glanced at the nametag to see that Gabby had taken it. He gaped down at her. "When did you return to the Isle?" he demanded quietly.

Gabby glanced over at him. "Oh, I didn't. But the fact that you actually thought the photo was taken on the Isle is a big confidence boost. That's what I was aiming for."

Jay blinked and looked at the photo again. It _had_ to be of the Isle. It showed a young boy wrapped in ratty clothes and his face down as he leaned against a worn brick wall. The black and white coloring definitely added to the gloomy, depressing mood of the photo.

"But…it-"

"Hadie helped me." Gabby told him quietly, also looking at the photo. "We set it up out behind the castle on the sidewalk. The Isle is a big part of who we all are. And, to an extent, it does still inspire me. The idea just popped into my head one day, and Hadie helped me out."

Jay nodded slowly. "Wow. Well, uh, you both did a good job." he told her quietly before they moved on to the next photo of a jungle scenery, looking up into towering trees and tangled vines.

"Gabby!" Evie called from across the room a few minutes later. Gabby glanced at her before looking up at Jay.

"Um, I should probably…"

"That's fine." Jay grinned at her. "Go ahead. I can't hog you all to myself tonight. I'll catch up with you later."

Gabby smiled at him before hurrying off to join Evie in front of a photo Jay recognized as one she'd taken of the waterfall that day. Shaking his head in amusement, Jay moved on to the next photo, only to pause.

It was him. It was a photo of him that day he'd taken her to the lake. Jay was standing on the cliff, only wearing his shorts and looking down at the water far below, though the water wasn't really visible in the photo since it was slightly zoomed in on him. His skin was glowing in the sunlight, a stark contrast to the bright green plants behind him, and his long hair was blowing in the breeze. Without running the risk of sounding arrogant, the photo was amazing.

Jay probably stood in front of that photo for longer then was necessary, but when he eventually moved on to look at the others, he noticed something. He was in quite a few of Gabby's photos. Or they subtly referenced him in some way.

Most of her photos were from that one day. There were a couple photos from the café, one of which had both Gabby's mug as well as his next to hers. Considering Gabby's mug had a heart shape in the foam, a lot of women were fawning over how romantic the photo was. There was another photo of Jay jumping off the cliff, catching him mid-jump. There was also a still-life photo of a couple swords arranged on a bench. And there was a photo of Jay sword fighting in practice, his mask hiding his face and his sword locked with his opponent's. His long hair was the only way anyone could tell it was him, though.

Jay's head was spinning. Of the ten photos Gabby submitted, three of them physically had Jay in them, a few more at least had something in them that referenced Jay, like the swords, and almost all of them he was present when she took them.

 _"I mostly picked my best photos that also showed what inspires me most."_ Gabby had said. She'd been so cryptic about it, too. As if it was some big secret or puzzle he was supposed to figure out. _Did_ he figure it out? He was in her photos, or he was connected to them in some way. Was that her way of saying he inspired her? Sure, the photos didn't completely revolve around him. They had many things in them, like Gingersnap, the waterfall, Beast's statue, Hadie.

She'd also said the Isle still inspired her, and he probably knew more about her life and experiences on the Isle than anyone. He was probably more _connected_ to her life on the Isle than anyone else.

So, he figured it was fairly safe to assume that he inspired her somehow. Did that mean she liked him? Did that mean his feelings for her might be reciprocated?

Meanwhile, while Jay was having his internal debate, Gabby was blushing as Evie went on and on about one of the photos she'd taken of the waterfall. Thankfully, Evie was cut off as Fairy Godmother approached them.

"Excuse me, girls, I'm sorry to interrupt," Fairy Godmother told them in her sweet voice before turning specifically to Gabby, "but there's someone who wants to speak with you about one of your photos, Gabby."

Gabby blinked nervously. "Oh. Um, okay. Is there something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh, no, nothing wrong at all." Fairy Godmother assured her with a warm smile. "Come with me." she urged. Gabby glanced nervously at Evie, who gave her a reassuring smile and a slight push. Gabby turned and followed the headmistress across the room. She looked ahead to see where they were heading and saw who she instantly recognized as the former Queen, Belle, standing in front of…Gabby's photo of the Beast's statue.

Gabby's stomach dropped just as Fairy Godmother reached the former Queen. Was she in trouble for taking such a picture? Was the former Queen offended? Was she upset that Gaston's daughter took a picture of the Beast's statue?

She tried not to panic as she stood with Fairy Godmother in front of Belle, the woman her father had been obsessed with. Belle's short, brown hair was perfectly curled with a crystal headband in it, and a lovely yellow dress going down to her knees. When her chocolate brown eyes met Gabby's blue, she smiled warmly at the young teen. Gabby couldn't quite manage to return it, she was practically petrified.

"Belle, this is Gabrielle. Gabby, this is Ben's mother, Belle." Fairy Godmother introduced them warmly.

Belle smiled and offered a hand. "It's lovely to meet you, Gabrielle."

"Y-you, too." Gabby stuttered, shaking her hand nervously. "I mean, um, it's nice to meet you, as well, um, Y-your Highness."

Belle laughed kindly. "No need for formalities, dear. And I suppose I should call you Gabby. That's what Ben and Mal call you, I believe."

"Oh. Um, yes. I prefer Gabby, I suppose." Gabby agreed awkwardly. "F-Fairy Godmother said you wished to speak with me? Is there a problem with the photo?" she asked anxiously.

"Oh, no, nothing like that." Belle assured her with a fond glance at the photo. "Actually, I was hoping I could purchase this photo. Quietly, of course." she told her quietly. "You see, my wedding anniversary is coming up next month, and I'd love to get this photo for my husband. Of course, if word gets out the paparazzi will tell him about it before I can even get it home." she explained, partially joking.

Gabby was shocked. "Y-you want to buy it? For your husband?" she repeated in a hushed voice merely out of shock. Belle wanted to buy a photo from Gaston's daughter for her husband, the Beast. Gabby almost couldn't wrap her head around it.

Belle's smile softened as if she could read the young girl's mind. "Yes, I would. You have a beautiful talent, Gabby. I've seen that statue a hundred times during the sunset, and yet I've never quite seen the beauty you managed to capture in this one picture."

"It actually took a few attempts to get it to look right." Gabby admitted sheepishly. "And some editing on the computer."

Belle shook her head slightly, still giving Gabby that warm smile that almost reminded Gabby…of her mom. "You sell yourself short, Gabrielle. You have a talent. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, I'd like to buy this photo from you, if that's alright." she added with an almost business-like tone. But the last few words told Gabby that if she truly didn't want to sell it to Belle, she didn't have to. Belle was giving her the choice.

"O-of course." Gabby agreed instantly, nodding her head quickly.

"Wonderful." Belle beamed widely. "I'll write a check to the school for $95," she added to Fairy Godmother, who was handling the money side of the evening, "and have it picked up later after everyone's left."

Gabby blinked and glanced at the price tag on the frame. Belle was offering to pay more than double what she priced it as. "But, it's only-"

"As I said," Belle interrupted her quietly, "you sell yourself short. I've often heard that art is worth, financially, whatever someone is willing to pay for it. And I think you could make a real future for yourself with more photos like these."

Gabby nodded slowly, staring up at Belle in amazement. Belle and Fairy Godmother moved across the room so Belle could pay while Gabby turned, as if in a daze, and slowly made her way back across the room. Evie, as well as Jay, were waiting for her where she'd left Evie earlier.

"What did Ben's mom want?" Evie asked curiously.

Gabby blinked rapidly, pulling herself out of her shock to look up at her friends. "She just bought one of my pictures." she answered in a whisper, still in shock. Then, she remembered: "You can't tell anyone that." she whispered quickly, glancing around. "She said it's a present for her husband. It's super top-secret."

Jay snorted at her wording.

"See? You must be talented if she bought one." Evie insisted.

" _Oooor_ she might just be treating me extra nice because she's a nice person." Gabby pointed out, dragging out the word 'or'.

"You gotta stop tearing yourself down." Jay told her, suddenly looking serious. Gabby blinked in surprise. "We're in Auradon, not the Isle anymore. You can be yourself. And you're an amazing, talented person. Everyone can see that."

Evie smothered a grin while Gabby struggled to find something to say, but she was too thrown by Jay's statement. Luckily, Carlos chose that moment to call Jay over to check out the food on the table, and he left. Gabby turned to watch him walk away, while Evie placed an arm around her shoulder.

"I think someone likes you." she whispered in a sing-song voice near Gabby's ear.

Gabby chose not to comment. But she couldn't help hoping that maybe, just maybe, Jay might feel the same way as her. And maybe he would have the courage to bring it up before the night was over, to save her the possible embarrassment of having to do it herself.

The rest of the evening went well. Of the ten photos Gabby submitted, she put six of them up for sale, and all of them were sold by the end of the night. Several people also wanted to buy Gabby's photo of Hadie that looked like it was set on the Isle, but Gabby didn't feel comfortable selling a photo of one of her friends.

By the end of the night, after most of the people had left, the room looked very empty. There were only about a dozen photos left on the walls between the whole club. Fairy Godmother and Lilo were at one of the tables counting the money they'd made and sorting it out. Gabby helped the others clean the place up a bit before heading for the door, completely exhausted.

"Oh, Gabby, don't forget your cut." Lilo called. Gabby stopped and looked back, confused. Lilo held up a small stack of green paper. Gabby approached and Lilo passed her what was a small stack of dollar bills. "Alright. Gabby, you made $155."

Gabby blinked, gaping down at the money in her hands. She'd forgotten that the money made selling the photos would be split 50/50 between the school and the photographers. So Gabby's 6 photos were sold for a total of…$310, half of which was going to the school and the photography club. But still…$155. Gabby never thought she'd ever see that much money at one time, much less in her hands. And she'd _earned_ it instead of stealing it.

Gabby stuttered out a thank you before turning and leaving. It was hard to tear her eyes off the money in her hand, but she eventually decided to put it in the pocket of her red skirt. When she looked up she paused, finding Jay leaning against the wall across from her. By his relaxed pose and the way he was watching her expectantly, she guessed he was waiting for her.

"Hey." she greeted him quietly as they fell into step together and headed down the hallway. "You weren't waiting there the whole time, were you? It took us a little while to clean up."

Jay shrugged casually. "It's no big deal. I wanted to walk you to your dorm, if that's alright."

"That's more than alright." Gabby answered softly, smiling over at him. He returned the smile as they reached the door to go outside. Jay held the door open, and Gabby of course blushed and thanked him quietly as she stepped through. When they stepped out into the chilly night air, Jay slipped his jacket off his shoulder and placed it over Gabby's. She paused in surprise, one hand going to the edge of the jacket's opening to keep it from falling off. It was the same jacket as the one she'd worn before; the red one with yellow sleeves and Jay's cobra on the back.

"Thanks." she whispered again, her voice carrying in the silent night air.

"No problem." Jay grinned. "So, a fairly a successful evening, wouldn't you say? I mean, most of your photos sold within the first few hours. The former Queen even bought one."

"Shh!" Gabby hissed, lightly slapping his arm. "That's top secret."

Jay chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. But still, did you have a good night?"

Gabby smiled, looking up at the moon shining in the navy sky. It wasn't a full moon, but it looked a few days away from being full. "I did. It was overwhelming some of the time, but it was also a lot of fun. I really appreciated everyone showing up to support me."

"Oh, you know I only showed up for the free food, right?" Jay joked, earning Gabby's elbow in his ribs.

"Very funny." Gabby laughed.

They walked most of the way in silence, but if it was awkward neither of them noticed. They were both lost in their own thoughts for the moment, though their thoughts were along the same lines.

Gabby was trying to decide how to tell Jay she liked him, while also hoping he'd do it first so she wouldn't have to.

Jay was trying to figure out if it was worth a possible blow to his ego to just ask Gabby out on a date, and even admit that he'd liked her as a friend for a long time, and more than a friend for almost as long. But he knew, if he was going to say something he should probably do it before they entered the dorms. Who knew who'd be eavesdropping in the hallways? He didn't need to make a pansy of himself in front of more than one person.

They were nearing the front doors of the castle when Gabby took a deep breath and spoke. "So, did you figure it out?" she asked lightly, her eyes fixed ahead.

Jay glanced down at her, slightly confused. "Um,…figure what out?" he asked slowly.

"Remember, earlier at the gallery I said…I picked the photos that show what inspires me most." Gabby reminded him, still refusing to look at him. "You asked what that meant, and I said you'd have to figure it out. Did you?"

Jay took a deep breath, also looking ahead now. "I don't know…Maybe. I might have?" he said, though it sounded more like a question. Then, he decided to just go for it.

Stopping abruptly, Jay gently grabbed Gabby's arm and pulled her to a stop, turning her to look at him. She looked up at him in surprise.

"I was in a lot of those pictures." Jay stated the obvious.

Gabby bit her bottom lip nervously. "Not a lot of them." she mumbled. "Just three of the ten actually had you in them."

Jay sighed. "Gabby, most of your pictures were taken that day we went to the lake. You said you picked photos that inspired you." Scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably, Jay finally pleaded, "Throw me a bone, here. I'm not good at this mushy stuff."

Gabby smiled shyly, ducking her head briefly before forcing herself to look up at him. "Okay,… _maybe_ I was talking about you when I said that. Can…can I ask you something, now?"

Jay nodded silently, wondering what she would say.

Gabby took a breath and looked down at her toes. "Well,…you've asked me to wear your jacket…a couple times now." she started, tugging lightly on said jacket to emphasize her point. "And, um, a few people have… _hinted_ that that means something. Something more than just it being chilly out. More than just you offering your jacket to keep me warm."

Jay held his breath, unsure exactly how to respond. "Yeah?" he finally said hesitantly. He didn't think she'd noticed. He'd hoped so that one evening of the R.O.A.R meet, but he didn't know.

"Like, um, I noticed Tyrone's girlfriend wears his jacket a lot." Gabby went on quickly. "Or Mal wearing Ben's ring. You know? And, I mean, I'm probably… _completely_ off-base," she added, laughing uncomfortably, "but I guess,…I just thought…well, I hoped that…maybe…"

Jay took pity on her. Stepping closer, he carefully took one of her hands in his, making her look up awkwardly.

"Wanna go out on a date sometime?" he asked, looking at her expression.

Gabby's eyes went wide before her face flushed red and she tried to smother a smile. She lowered her eyes shyly, but Jay bumped a knuckle under her chin to silently encourage her not to hide from him. When she shyly peaked back up at him, Jay admired how the moonlight made her fair skin glow, her blue eyes shining like mini moons of their own. If anyone ever heard what he was thinking, they'd never let him live it down.

"Not hearing an answer." he urged after a few moments, though he was pretty sure he knew what she would say.

Gabby bit her lip on a smile before looking up at him from under her eyelashes. "Yes. I'd like that." she answered quietly.

Jay grinned, lightly squeezing her hand that he was still holding. "Good." he answered quietly, his tone sounding slightly relieved, which almost made Gabby giggle. Jay tugged on her hand and they started walking toward the school again, and Gabby was glad he didn't let her hand go.

Jay walked her all the way to her dorm, still holding her hand until they reached her door.

"I'll figure out something for that date." Jay told her quietly, since most people were probably in their dorms at least getting ready for bed. "Maybe sometime next weekend?"

Gabby smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that should work. Honestly, your schedule's more packed than mine. Really anything other than Thursdays works for me."

Jay grinned. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind."

Gabby smiled before slowly releasing Jay's hand. She slipped his jacket off her shoulders and started to pass it to him, only for him to put his hand out and gently push it back toward her.

"Keep it." Jay told her before winking. "I've got plenty. And you can wear it whenever you get cold."

Gabby tried not to blush, rolling her eyes slightly. "Right, and the fact that everyone will know we're together because I'm wearing your jacket has _nothing_ to do with it, right?" she asked sarcastically.

"Right." Jay agreed with a smirk. He quickly leaned down and kissed her cheek before hurrying away, calling a goodnight as he went.

Gabby blinked in shock. She barely refrained from cheesily touching her cheek even though she could still feel the spot Jay kissed her as if his lips had left a burn on her cheek. She slowly opened her door and entered the dorm, which was dark. Moonlight was shining through a tiny sliver of space between the curtains. A human-sized lump in Freddie's bed told Gabby that her roommate was already asleep. A loud flutter made Gabby jump just as familiar talons touched her shoulder. She sighed, reaching up to blindly pet Gingersnap's head as the parrot snuggled into her neck.

Gabby carefully crossed the room, not wanting to trip and make a loud noise and wake Freddie. When she finally reached her own bed, she carefully sat down on it and simply stared blankly down at her feet.

She actually had a date with _Jay_. It actually happened.

There was no way she would get any sleep tonight. She was on cloud 9.

 **AN: Finally! The chapter we've all been waiting for! I hope everyone liked it!**

 **Also, Aphrodite's parent was finally(sort of) revealed! Her mom is Alana, one of Ariel's sisters. Her dad is probably some random merman, I don't know.**

 **Many people guessed that her parents were Ariel and Eric or Melody, which was so close! Good job to ThatMeepViolet and mirami03, the only 2 people to guess one of Ariel's sisters or Alana herself.**

 **Please review and let me know what you all thought! I really love reading your reviews! They make my day!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Ch 28:**

"Are you even listening to me?"

Gabby hummed distractedly, focusing her attention on the viewfinder of her camera as she snapped another photo. She shifted higher up on her knees so she was looking slightly more downward on the red rose in front of her. It was a dark crimson, it's petals looking as soft as velvet, and there were a few little droplets of water decorating the petals. Staring at the viewfinder, she switched the mode on her camera like she'd recently been shown in Photography Club, and the background became blurry so that the red rose really stood out in the blurry green background. She snapped a few pictures like this before looking over her shoulder at where Evie was watching her, looking amusedly impatient.

"Sorry, what?" Gabby asked, smiling sheepishly at her friend. Evie and Dizzy were both sitting out on a picnic blanket on the school lawn. They were eating dinner after class, while working a bit on homework in Dizzy's case, and they were _supposed_ to be discussing ideas for a fundraiser for the Isle.

Evie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "If you've taken enough pictures of that one _particular_ rose, can you come back over here so we can discuss this more?" she asked lightly.

"Sorry." Gabby laughed, getting up and returning to her spot on the blanket. "Where were we?"

"Well, a couple for-sure ideas we have are for people to donate new or gently used items to be sent to the Isle, and of course Dizzy and I will be selling things so that part of the proceeds will go to the Isle or buying things for the Isle."

"Are we just going to do the money going to the Isle, or that Buy-One-Send-One to the Isle idea?" Gabby asked before taking a bite of her sandwich.

Evie hummed. "Good point. Probably a bit of both depending on what we're selling. Maybe for mine and Dizzy's products, we could do the Buy-One-Send-One deal, so people on the Isle can get some nicer things to wear and use."

"Gabby could do a bake sale." Dizzy suggested cheekily, tilting her head and smiling over at Gabby, who rolled her eyes in amusement.

"I _suppose_ I could do that." Gabby admitted, silently thinking it was a good idea. "But wouldn't I need permission from, like, Fairy Godmother or someone to use the school's kitchen?"

"Probably." Evie admitted, writing something in the notebook she was using. "I'll make a note of it and bring it up to Ben later."

"Hey, guys." Jay suddenly plopped down on the blanket with them, dropping his sweaty arm over Gabby's shoulders. He'd just finished R.O.A.R practice.

"Ew!" Gabby squealed, laughing slightly as she tried to wiggle her way out from under his arm. "Gross! You stink! Get away from me!" she laughed, trying and failing to scoot away as Jay tightened his arm around her.

He laughed, shifting to hook his arm more around the back of her neck and keeping her from leaving. "What? You don't like my manly smell?"

Gabby fake gagged in disgust. "That is _not_ what men smell like. That's…that's what my brothers smell like." she joked.

Jay mock-gaped at her in offense. "Ouch. That hurts, Gabby. Really."

Gabby snorted, unable to keep herself from laughing.

She'd been worried Saturday morning following the night of the photo gallery that things with Jay would be awkward after he asked her out, but it wasn't. He'd greeted her with their other friends Saturday morning like he would any other day, except with maybe more smiles than before. On Sunday they'd agreed to go on their date Saturday, as Jay had a R.O.A.R meet Friday night.

"So, what are you girls doing?" Jay asked, finally releasing Gabby from his sweaty hold so he could snatch some chips off her plate.

"We're planning out our fundraiser for the Isle." Evie explained briefly.

Jay hummed before turning to look at Gabby. "Are you going to sell some of your photos?"

Gabby blinked while Evie gasped at the idea.

"I didn't even think of that! That's genius, Jay! Gabby, you should!" Evie insisted.

"Um, well, I-" Gabby stuttered.

"You sold every photo you put up for sale on Friday." Evie pointed out. "And you made how much? Like $300 total. If you do like you did on Friday, and just split your profit 50/50, you could easily make some money for yourself as well as earn some money for the Isle."

Gabby chewed on her lip thoughtfully, glancing over at Jay.

"You really think I should?" she asked quietly.

Jay shrugged. "It's your decision. I honestly thought you would have already thought of it. You seem to enjoy taking pictures, and you could do some good while doing it. So, why not?"

Gabby nodded slowly. He did make a good point. And she did have several new photos she could sell. "I might need to ask Lilo to help me, since she helped me frame my photos last time. But I suppose I could do that."

"Don't overextend yourself, though." Evie quickly told her, writing something down in her notebook. "We're not going to expect you to be in charge of the bake sale and selling your photos on top of school. Maybe someone can help you with the baking. Or we can open up the bake sale to anyone who wants to donate something."

Gabby rolled her eyes playfully. "I can't do both, but you can go to school, run a business, be the King's counselor, _and_ run this whole fundraiser?" she teased.

Jay snorted. "She's got a point, E." he chuckled.

Evie huffed. "For you're information, I'm delegating." she informed them both. "I'm not doing _everything_."

"No, just almost everything." Dizzy teased. Evie narrowed her eyes playfully at the young girl before giggling.

"Oh, hush, all of you. Is there anything else we want to get down for now? We can work out the details later."

"We need a name." Dizzy announced simply.

"For the fundraiser?" Evie checked.

"Well, that too, I suppose. But I meant more for the organization you started. Where you and Gabby suggest stuff to Ben, or who to bring over from the Isle. You guys need a name."

Evie looked at her thoughtfully. "That's a good idea."

"Why not just name it after the Anti-Heroes?" Jay suggested, eating more food off Gabby's plate.

But Gabby wasn't pay attention to Jay stealing her food. She was thinking about Dizzy's suggestion. A few ideas that had been swirling in her head for a few days now popped up.

"What about…Isle Strong?" Gabby suggested quietly.

The others looked over at her, all silently thinking over her suggestion.

"Isle Strong." Evie repeated. "I like that. I'll write it down and we can go over it with Ben later."

*~0~*

"What are you doing?"

Gabby jumped slightly, causing her pencil to jerk and leave a small line on her notebook. She glanced up to see Jay looking at her computer screen over her shoulder.

"Don't scare me like that!" she hissed, turning to lightly smack his shoulder. She was in the school library on one of the computers, so she tried to keep her voice down. "I'm looking up different recipes and stuff that I could make for the bake sale."

"That looks good." Jay told her, pointing at the recipe she was currently making note of in her notebook. "You should definitely make that."

Gabby chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"And I can be your official taste tester." Jay offered teasingly. "Anyway, I came in here to ask if you forgot."

Gabby turned to look at him in confusion. "Forgot what?"

"They're bringing more kids over from the Isle, remember?"

Gabby's eyes widened. "Shoot!" she hissed, barely remembering to stay quiet. "I completely forgot. We had a quiz in History of Auradon, and a lab in Chemistry, and-and-" she rambled, quickly collecting her things and trying to log out of the computer all at the same time.

"Calm down." Jay laughed quietly, covering one of her hands with his before she could drop something. "We've got ten minutes before we need to get out there. Relax."

Gabby did just that, but only slightly. "Right. Okay." she agreed, collecting her things at a more relaxed pace before standing up. Jay slipped her backpack off her shoulder and onto his, grabbing her hand in his hand and leading her out of the library. Gabby tried not to blush, especially when she spotted a table of cheerleaders staring at them and whispering.

"I can carry my bag, you know." she told Jay quietly.

Jay glanced down at her, before glancing past her at the cheerleaders. "Because you're independent, or because you're embarrassed?" he asked knowingly.

"I'm not embarrassed." Gabby argued, though she doubted Jay believed her.

"Who cares what they say, Gabby?" Jay asked her as they left the library and headed down the hallway. "As long as you're happy, who cares what everyone else thinks?"

Gabby looked down thoughtfully before glancing up at Jay, who was looking straight ahead. Not wanting him to feel like she was embarrassed by him, she squeezed his hand and briefly leaned her head against his shoulder.

They reached the front of the school in less than five minutes, where most of the usual welcoming committee was waiting.

"Oh, Gabby!" Fairy Godmother greeted her cheerfully. "Evie told me about your idea to have a bake sale for the Isle's fundraiser. I'm more than happy to let you use the school kitchen. It would have to be sometime between 7 to 11 in the evenings, and you need to clean up after yourself."

Gabby nodded eagerly. "Of course. Thank you so much!"

"And you'll be pleased to know," Ben told her, approaching with Mal, "that we have four new students coming over, but we also picked several families with young children who are being taken to a shelter nearby. When the kids are older, they'll be allowed to attend Auradon Prep as well."

"That's great!" Gabby beamed, exchanging a thrilled glance with Evie.

They waited a few more minutes before a familiar limo pulled up in front of the school. By that point, several other students had wandered over, most out of curiosity. Gabby, who had managed to take her bag back from Jay, was waiting eagerly for the door of the limo to open.

Finally, it did and out stepped Claudine, her dark hair blowing lightly in the breeze. She was looking around with a smile as she stepped away from the limo. She was followed from the car by Diego, Big Murph, and Eddie. Eddie was eating what looked like chocolate as he looked around.

Gabby and the others swarmed forward to greet the new arrivals excitedly. Carlos greeted his cousin, Diego. Gabby and Evie greeted Claudine. Harry, Jace, and Hadie greeted Eddie. Jay gave Big Murph a high five in greeting.

Ben and Fairy Godmother gave the new group the typical greeting and explanation. Gabby listened with half an ear, partially because she'd already heard it three times now, and partially because Lonnie had approached her.

"Hey, Gabby."

"Hi, Lonnie." Gabby smiled at the other teenage girl. She really liked Lonnie, mostly because she was really friendly and nothing like most Auradon girls. She was tough and independent, but also really happy and friendly.

"Evie told me about the fundraiser you guys are planning, and I wanted to help out. My mom makes the _best_ chocolate chip cookies. I'm going to ask if she can donate some for the fundraiser when I call her tonight. Or I can make some myself if she's too busy." Lonnie explained.

"That would be great." Gabby smiled widely in response. She'd already had a few people approach her in the couple days since her and Evie discussed the fundraiser, and a couple people had approached Evie, as well. Apparently, her and King Ben had been spreading the word slightly even though the details hadn't been completely worked out.

"Hey, you haven't said 'hello' to me, yet, Gabs." a familiar voice interrupted Gabby and Lonnie's conversation. Gabby turned and grinned up at Big Murph, who was beaming widely at her in his usual garb of an eye patch, red bandana, and faded yellow vest.

Gabby rolled her eyes and allowed Big Murph to pull her into a quick hug. It wasn't something anyone on the Isle could really do, but she had a feeling Big Murph would adapt to life in Auradon just fine.

When Gabby pulled out of the quick hug, she glanced over at Lonnie, who was looking at all the new Isle kids with curiosity, though a much warmer, friendlier kind than some of the other people watching.

"Big Murph, this is Lonnie. Lonnie, this is Big Murph." Gabby introduced them. "You might actually remember each other from our fight with Uma back on the Isle."

Big Murph grinned widely as he shook hands with Lonnie, who was smiling just as wide. "Yeah, I remember. You kicked some major butt back there."

"I could say the same to you." Lonnie returned. "Where'd you learn to use a sword that well?"

"I'm a pirate. It's in the job description." Big Murph joked, smirking. "You?"

"My parents are both soldiers. It's in the job description." she joked back. "Maybe I could show you the amphitheater where we practice our sword fighting sometime."

"That'd be awesome." Big Murph agreed, looking excited.

Gabby glanced between the two for a moment, though they moved right into a conversation about Lonnie's last meet, as Big Murph seemed eager to hear more about what the R.O.A.R meets were like. He was particularly excited that the coming Friday was the next meet, so he'd get to watch one very soon.

Seeing that she was no longer needed, Gabby slowly backed away and approached where Evie and Mal were talking with Claudine.

"Someone seems to be comfortable already." Evie noted, looking over Gabby's shoulder. Claudine and Mal followed her eyes and Gabby couldn't resist looking back at Big Murph and Lonnie, who were still talking eagerly.

Mal tilted her head and smirked slightly. "You know…they might make a good couple." she decided teasingly. "They have quite a bit in common."

Evie gasped quietly, clapping her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gosh, you're right. We should-"

"Evie." Gabby laughed. "Don't you think you've done enough matchmaking the past few weeks? And I don't think they need any help."

"Matchmaking, huh?" Claudine asked knowingly with a smirk. She glanced among the other girls before her eyes fell on Gabby, who couldn't help blushing. "You and Jay finally pulled your heads out of your butts, huh?"

Gabby gaped while Mal and Evie laughed. "Wha-how-?"

"Oh, come on!" Claudine laughed, rolling her eyes. "Jay was one of the few guys on the Isle that wasn't a complete pervert over you being 'property', and you were about the only girl who didn't fawn over him for attention. There was even a bet going among some of us Anti-Heroes the past few weeks on whether or not you and Jay started dating after you got here."

Gabby blushed and covered her face with both hands. "You've gotta be kidding me." she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Are you three picking on my girl?" Jay's playful voice came out of nowhere before arms suddenly wrapped around Gabby from behind. She tensed before forcing herself to relax. She peaked between her fingers and noticed Claudine, Mal, and Evie all smirking slightly at her.

"I'm not your girl." Gabby pointed out. "We haven't been on a date yet."

"And whose jacket were you wearing yesterday?" Jay asked teasingly, leaning to the side to see her face.

Gabby knew she was still blushing as she slowly lowered her hands, but she narrowed her eyes up at him. "Can't remember his name." she answered teasingly.

Claudine and Mal 'ooh'ed while Evie giggled.

Jay smirked and shook his head. "It's not that hard of a name to remember. Like, three letters. It sounds like one letter."

Gabby looked up and tapped a finger to her chin, pretending to think. "Dee? Emme? No, I think that's four letters. Oh, I know! Kay?"

Jay's arms moved so that he was tickling her ribs. Gabby's gasp came out as a slight shriek as she tried to wiggle her way out of his hold.

"Jay, leave the poor girl alone!" Evie scolded, though Gabby thought she sounded amused.

Jay finally let up, laughing with a few others as Gabby scurried away and hid behind Claudine and Mal. She stuck her tongue out at Jay from between the two girls' shoulders.

The large group stayed out in front of the school for another ten minutes before they decided to give the newcomers a tour, though they ended up splitting up into a few much smaller groups instead of one huge crowd. Claudine went with Freddie, Mal, and Yzla. Diego and Eddie went with Carlos, Harry, and Jace. Finally, Big Murph went with Lonnie, Jay, and Gabby, mostly because he kinda wanted to start with the amphitheater across campus.

Big Murph and Lonnie were walking just ahead of Jay and Gabby, immersed in yet another conversation about swords, but Gabby caught snippets of other topics in there as well.

Jay suddenly dropped his arm over Gabby's shoulders and tugged her closer as they walked. "Hey, should I apologize about earlier?" he asked honestly.

Gabby looked up at him in confusion, trying to think of something he'd done that he should apologize for. "Um,…for what?" she finally asked, not sure what he was talking about.

"About calling you 'my girl'." Jay explained. "I didn't think before I spoke, and afterwards I wondered if that was…inappropriate. You know, since you used to be my…property." he explained awkwardly. "I didn't mean it that way when I said it, obviously. I just meant,…you know, we're going on a date in a few days, and I'd like for you to be my girlfriend, and I think you want the same thing. I don't know, I guess I was just wondering if we should talk about it."

Gabby looked ahead as she thought about it. "Honestly, that's not why I went all awkward when you said that. I just felt uncomfortable with everyone staring at us while you were being all touchy. I'm still getting used to all that, and the fact that some attention isn't always bad. I hadn't even thought about it that way. Maybe I shouldn't like it, but…I don't know. You didn't mean it that way, right? You didn't mean it like I'm your property."

"No, of course not." Jay agreed. "I meant it like I said before, I want you to be my girlfriend. But that won't make you mine, obviously. I want you to keep growing, and be your own person. I like how independent you've become. You can still rely on me, of course, but…"

"But you can rely on me, too." Gabby added when he trailed off, her eyes moving to his face.

Jay smiled down at her. "Yeah. We're…partners. Equals."

Gabby smiled. "Partners." she agreed.


	29. Chapter 29

**Ch 29:**

Gabby huffed slightly when she finally got the bobby pin to stay in place, keeping the small braid in place. Now, her black and red hair was loosely curled with the front section pinned back in a small braid.

Stepping back from the mirror, Gabby looked at her whole reflection to make sure she looked okay. She was wearing a simple black dress with 1 inch straps and that ended around her knees. There was a skinny red belt around her waist, and brown wedge heels on her feet.

Turning around, Gabby held her hands out to the side, silently asking the people sitting in the room if she looked okay.

"You look _perfect_!" Evie squealed from where she was sitting on Gabby's bed.

"Don't look so nervous." Mal told her from her spot next to Evie, Gingersnap perched on her shoulder. "It's just Jay. He always thinks you look nice."

Gabby blushed and looked down, pretending to be looking at her dress. "I might be less nervous if I knew _where_ this date was at." she pointed out, grabbing her new purse off her desk. The purse was small and black with a long gold chain strap, and a red rose with green leaves stitched on the front. "All Jay's told me is that it takes almost _two hours_ to get there, which is why we're leaving at three o'clock."

"You probably wouldn't know what to expect even if we did tell you where it was." Mal told her. "You haven't been to many places in Auradon yet. Just know, it's not pizza at Tony's."

Gabby scrunched up her nose at the other girl. "I wouldn't mind pizza at Tony's. And anyway, he doesn't only sell pizza."

Mal smirked. "Well, you're not eating spaghetti at Tony's, either. That'll have to be date 2."

Gabby blushed, trying to look mad. Before she could retort, however, someone knocked on the door. Gabby fidgeted slightly in place, her hands grasping at her purse strap. She glanced anxiously over at the girls, who silently gestured to the door to tell her to answer it.

Taking a deep breath, Gabby approached the door and opened it before she could freak out anymore. Standing on the other side was Jay.

He was wearing a nice-looking leather jacket that was black with burgundy sleeves and a slightly slanted zipper, and dark wash jeans. Some of his long, brown hair was pulled back in a mini ponytail out of his face. And he grinned when she opened the door.

"Hey." he greeted her simply.

"Hey." Gabby said back with a smile, trying not to blush.

"You look beautiful." Jay told her honestly. With that comment, Gabby knew her attempts at not blushing was futile.

"Aw! How romantic!" Mal called teasingly from behind Gabby. Pursing her lips, Gabby rolled her eyes before looking over her shoulder while Jay looked around her at the two girls sitting on Gabby's bed.

"Shut it, Mal. You're just jealous." Jay called before gesturing with his arm for Gabby to leave the room ahead of him. She gratefully slipped out, letting him close the door behind her to Mal and Evie calling out for them to have fun.

Gabby sighed heavily. "Those two are wonderful, but they're also a pain."

Jay laughed as he walked at her side. "You could say that again." he agreed.

They walked out of the dorms and out to the front of the castle. Parked out on the road was a dark blue bike-like scooter.

"It's not really my style," Jay started, grabbing a helmet off the seat, "but Ben wouldn't let me borrow the limo just to take you on a date." he added the last part playfully as he passed the helmet to her.

Gabby laughed. "Yeah, that makes sense." she agreed, putting the helmet on her head and strapping it in place.

Jay put on another helmet and climbed onto the scooter. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating Gabby should get on behind him. Gabby smiled and carefully climbed onto the scooter, putting her hand on Jay's shoulder to keep her steady.

Jay peaked over his shoulder at her as soon as she sat down. "Hold on." he told her teasingly. Gabby hesitantly wrapped her arms around his abdomen and a second later he started the scooter and they zoomed off. Gabby instinctively tightened her hold, pressing her face into the back of Jay's shoulder when the sudden movement almost sent her backward.

The ride felt like it took forever, but Gabby also enjoyed the sights. Most of the ride was on a forest road, so there was plenty of greenery to see. They also passed through a couple small villages. However, it was still a long, slightly boring ride, especially since it was difficult to talk on a scooter.

Finally, Jay slowed the scooter and Gabby looked up, curious as to where they were. The first thing that caught her eye was a large, two story building across the street from where Jay parked. It was a beautiful, extravagant brick building with balconies and glass doors. A large sign shone light green with elegant, cursive letters spelling "Tiana's Palace".

Gabby turned her head to look all around them as Jay climbed off the scooter. She couldn't see any other restaurants or places that looked like somewhere you'd go for a date.

"Where are we going?" she asked Jay, climbing off the scooter and taking off her helmet. Jay was also taking his helmet off, setting it on the seat with hers.

"I should think it'd be hard to miss the giant, lit up restaurant behind me." Jay joked, jerking his thumb at the restaurant Gabby had been admiring.

Gabby gaped, glancing between Jay and Tiana's Palace multiple times. "You're joking. That place looks way too nice." she argued. "It looks expensive."

"Actually, I've been told it's fairly priced. It's just getting a reservation that's difficult. It's a really popular place." Jay told her.

"Well, I'm helping pay." Gabby decided firmly as they crossed the street.

"No, I'm paying. It's a date." Jay argued.

"And what? Since you're the guy, you have to pay for everything all the time?" Gabby asked sarcastically.

Jay held the front door of the restaurant open for Gabby as he answered. "Well,…yeah?"

"That's ridiculous." Gabby told him. "I brought money. I can at least help pay for the food."

"Do you have a reservation?" a kind young woman asked as they approached a podium.

"Yeah. It should be under Jay." Jay answered. The woman checked something before taking a couple menus and leading them further into the restaurant and to a table. There were already several tables full of people.

The inside of the restaurant was as beautiful as the outside. It had shining wood flooring, bronze railing, and beams that went up to the ceiling. A huge chandelier and many lanterns hung from the ceiling, and a glass skylight allowed the sun to shine in. The tables were all round with green tablecloths that resembled lily pads, and had white chairs with green cushions and candle centerpieces that looked like flowers.

As Jay and Gabby sat at one of the tables, Gabby's eyes followed the sound of jazz music to a stage at the far side of the restaurant, where a band was playing…lead by a crocodile?

"So, how'd you get reservations if this place is so popular?" Gabby asked curiously.

"Tyrone helped me out." Jay answered, opening a menu. Gabby did the same, looking at all the delicious-looking options.

"How'd he help?"

Jay glanced at her over his menu. "His mom owns the place."

Gabby blinked. "But I thought he was a prince. Why would his mom own a business if she's royalty?"

Jay paused and seemed to think about it before looking at her. "I'm not sure. Maybe you should ask him sometime."

It only took a few minutes before a waitress stopped by to take their orders and drop off their beverages. Gabby ordered the gumbo and Jay ordered the jambalaya.

"You really don't have to help pay." Jay told Gabby, continuing their earlier conversation.

Gabby narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "I'm helping pay, whether you like it or not. So save your breath. Why are you so against me helping pay, anyway?" she asked, curious. Jay had never really been the typical chivalrous, traditional kind of guy that insisted on paying for things.

Jay shrugged slightly, mirroring her position of resting his arms on the table, leaning slightly closer to her. "I don't know…Part of it might be the Basic Chivalry class I'm taking. And,…I don't know, maybe it's an ego thing." he joked slightly. "Like, wanting to show that I could take care of you if I needed to. I know you're independent and all that, but…" he trailed off and shrugged slightly.

Gabby smiled slightly. "So, you don't spend your nights counting your gold like Jafar always does?" she joked slightly.

Jay snorted. "Not hardly. There's not much to count. And what's the point in saving money and not spending it on yourself and your friends?"

Gabby smiled, but then frowned slightly. "You didn't have to take me somewhere nice if you don't have a lot of money." she told him, concerned by him mentioning he didn't have much money.

"That's not what I meant." Jay assured her, quickly shaking his head. "And I want to be able to take you places."

"But-"

"I'll get a job; relax. I can't get one now, unfortunately, but I was talking with Li'l Shang, Lonnie's brother, and he might have a summer job for me teaching kids sword fighting. And I've actually been looking into taking the R.O.A.R Assistant Coach position at Auradon Prep when I graduate."

Gabby smiled, noticing how Jay seemed to almost inflate with pride. He was figuring his life out, discovering what made him happy. It was something kids on the Isle never had the luxury to even think about.

"I'm glad you found things that make you happy." Gabby told him quietly. "But I'm still not letting you pay for everything. Partners, remember?" she reminded him sternly.

Jay chuckled, nodding slightly. "Alright, fine. You've been helping Evie out with her business, right?"

"Only about eight hours a week so far, but I have other stuff on my plate, so she understands. And I'll help out more during busy season. Whenever that is." Gabby answered.

"Think that'll be your career or something after you leave school?" Jay asked curiously.

Gabby paused, blinking slightly as she thought it over. "Uuumm,…I don't know." she admitted, partially thinking out loud. "I mean, I do enjoy the work. And I like helping Evie. But I don't think I'm quite as passionate about it as Evie is."

Their conversation paused as their waitress returned with their food.

"You could be a chef." Jay suggested teasingly, lifting a spoon to begin eating.

Gabby laughed. "I might be good at cooking, but I don't think I'd want to make actual work out of it. Cooking for dinner, or baking for a fundraiser, is one thing. I don't think I'd enjoy cooking for several hours a day. I would start to hate it." Gabby paused to take a bite of her gumbo, her eyes going wide. She swallowed and pointed her spoon down at her bowl. "And I could never compete with this. This is the _best_ thing I've ever tasted." she informed him seriously.

Jay laughed, though he nodded in agreement.

They continued to talk as they ate, and they were scraping the bottom of their bowls in about half an hour.

"Have you been here before?" Gabby asked curiously, leaning back slightly in her chair to let herself digest.

Jay shook his head. "Nope, this was the first time I've been here. The guys heard I was looking for a place to take you on a date and Tyrone mentioned it. And I gotta admit, he wasn't exaggerating."

"Rony?" a different voice spoke up, making both Gabby and Jay look down in surprise. A little girl was curly, sandy blonde hair and blue eyes in a frilly pink dress was standing by their table, blinking up at them with a huge smile and dimples. "Rony's my cousin. Are you his friends?" she asked, blinking big, blue eyes up at them.

"Uh…" Jay and Gabby stuttered at the same time, glancing curiously at each other.

"Candace." a new voice scolded lightly as another woman arrived. She was a beautiful middle aged woman was dark skin and black hair pulled into a bun, dressed in an elegant green dress. She rested her hands on the little girl's shoulders. "Are you bothering these nice people?" she asked knowingly.

"No, Auntie Tia. They're Rony's friends." Candace informed the woman seriously.

Her aunt sighed, running one hand down the little girl's blonde curls. "Go back to your table, Candy. You can't have dessert until you finish eating, remember?"

Candace pouted, but did as told, turning to return to a table a bit closer to the stage. She climbed onto a chair between two women; one with fair skin and blonde hair, and another with dark skin and gray hair wearing a tiara.

"Sorry about my niece. I hope she wasn't bothering you." the woman said, glancing between Jay and Gabby with a kind smile.

Jay and Gabby both quickly assured her it was fine.

The woman then looked at Jay thoughtfully. "Although, I believe my niece was right. You're Jay, right? My son Tyrone has mentioned you."

"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you, Ma'am." Jay greeted her, looking surprised. Gabby herself felt her throat go slightly dry with nerves. She was talking to a Queen. It wasn't as petrifying as talking to Belle, but it was still slightly nerve-wracking.

"Oh, please don't call me Ma'am." she laughed. "That makes me feel old. Call me Tiana." she told him, holding her hand out. Jay shook it, looking slightly more at ease. Gabby also relaxed slightly. This woman looked very easygoing.

"It's nice to meet you." Jay told her. "This is Gabby." he introduced them. Tiana turned and shook Gabby's hand as well.

"And I'm assuming you're the reason Tyrone insisted I make sure his teammate got a reservation here for tonight?" Tiana guessed jokingly.

Gabby blushed, looking down slightly and laughing in embarrassment.

"Yep." Jay answered for her, grinning.

"Well, I'll let you two get back to your dinner. And if you have room for dessert, I strongly recommend the Beignets."

As Tiana was about to walk away, Gabby called, "Um, Ma-I mean, Tiana?"

Tiana turned back to her, looking slightly amused at Gabby's fumble though she didn't comment. "Yes?"

"Well, I was just wondering,…if you're a Queen, why do you want to own a business?" Gabby asked curiously.

Tiana smiled. "I've dreamt of opening a restaurant since I was a little girl. Cooking is always something I've loved to do. It's a lot of work, sure, but I don't come here everyday feeling like I'm working. I love it so much that I look forward to coming in every morning."

After Tiana went back to work, Jay and Gabby did as she suggested and ordered a plate of Beignets, which turned out to be dough fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It was like heaven for their taste buds! If it weren't for the price, Jay would've ordered at least three plates. Four per plate just didn't seem to be enough, especially when you're splitting them between two people.

Jay had finished his second Beignet and realized Gabby was only nibbling on her second one. She was staring distractedly toward the stage with the jazz band. Jay curiously followed her gaze and realize she was staring at Tiana, who had stopped to talk to the table that had her family.

Looking back at Gabby, Jay reached across the table and lightly poked her forearm. Gabby blinked before looking back at him.

"You okay?" Jay asked quietly, unsure what she was thinking. She didn't look upset, but he couldn't tell what her expression was.

Gabby smiled slightly and looked down at the dessert in her hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about what she said earlier."

"What about it?" Jay urged curiously.

"About running her business. Because she loves it so much, it doesn't feel like work." Gabby explained without really explaining. "It's kinda like Evie, right? She loves designing and sewing, so her business is something she loves, too."

Jay tilted his head slightly. "Is there a point in this thought process? Where are you going with this?"

Gabby chewed her lip, rolling the thought over in her mind. Finally, she shook her head. "I don't know. Just thinking. Nothing important." She looked up to see Jay still looked curious, and she didn't want to ruin the night by refusing to tell him, but she also wasn't quite ready to say anything out loud. "I'll tell you later. Tell me about your next R.O.A.R meet. You're playing Olympus, right?"

Jay grinned, letting her change the subject. "Yeah, we are. But we'll kick their butts like always."

"Arrogant much?" Gabby teased.

"Nah, just confident in my team." Jay countered.

They spent a while longer talking and laughing at their table. When they felt like they could move without having to roll with their full bellies, Jay managed to coax Gabby onto the dance floor in front of the stage with several other couples. Gabby felt extremely awkward at first, but they didn't really dance romantically. They just had fun dancing to the upbeat jazz music the band was playing.

When it neared eight at night, they finally admitted it was time to get going. Before they left, however, Gabby explained to Tiana about the fundraiser Evie, Gabby, and Ben were putting together, and asked if she would be willing to donate some Beignets or something. Tiana's response was for Gabby to simply name the time and place. Gabby assured her she'd tell King Ben to contact her with more information.

Gabby paid for almost half of the meal, despite Jay's grumbling, and the two headed back to Auradon Prep. It was dark out as Jay drove the scooter, so Gabby remained silent so as not to distract him, merely resting her cheek on his back and watching the moonlit scenery.

It was almost ten when they reached the dorms, though they weren't quite ready for the night to be over. At least, Gabby wasn't. And she guessed Jay wasn't, either, as he insisted on walking her to her dorm. It took them a bit longer than normal, as they both were keen to drag their feet.

Eventually, however, they found themselves standing outside Gabby's dorm room. She stopped and turned to look up at Jay, giving him a smile. He returned it.

"So, I did alright?" Jay guessed.

Gabby's smile widened. "Yes, you did. But I don't expect big fancy dinners all the time. Next date is…pizza and a movie. Or something."

Jay chuckled. "So, there's going to be a second date. Good to know."

There was a moment of silence, as if they were both waiting for something. Jay looked to be silently debating something before he finally spoke again.

"So, I want to kiss you, but I don't want to come off as a douche." he announced, his voice quiet in the empty hallway.

Gabby grinned, both amused and grateful. Jay seemed to be taking her issues seriously. He didn't want to blur the lines considering their past of her being considered his "property".

So, Gabby abruptly made a decision and acted on it before she could over think it and chicken out. Pushing up more on her toes, Gabby leaned forward and gently touched her lips to Jay's.

Jay's hands lightly touched Gabby's waist, mostly to keep her from falling over. It was a short kiss, and Gabby pulled away after only a couple seconds. Her eyes found Jay's, and they stared at each other for a few moments. Then, Jay's lips stretched into a smile.

"You're not a douche." Gabby told him, smiling. "Tonight was great. Thank you."

"No problem." Jay assured her. "So,…first date successful,…first kiss _definitely_ successful…" Jay listed, making Gabby blush and look down, chuckling awkwardly, "Does that mean you're my girlfriend now?"

Gabby sighed, looking upward and pretending to think about it. "Oh, I don't know…" she murmured before looking at him. Jay was smirking slightly, knowing she was messing with him. Gabby looked at him seriously for a few moments, and Jay's smile slowly shrunk, wondering if this was about to go very different from how he thought it would.

"Do you really want to be my boyfriend?" Gabby asked him seriously. "I mean,…you said coming to Auradon, you kind of just wanted to forget about life on the Isle. Would dating me be the opposite? Like, taking a step backward?"

Jay blinked, slightly confused by this turn of events. He was silent for a few moments as he thought about how to respond. "Well,…not really, no. It would be like moving on. I mean, think about it; could you really see me with some prissy Auradon princess? Given everything we went through on the Isle, I think I need someone who understands what I've been through. Someone who understands that I'm not going to be tough or happy every single day. I'm going to have bad days; days where the memories get to be too much. And you're one of the only people out there I feel like I can be myself with. I don't have to change, or be some prince charming, to be with you. And you don't have to change to be with me. We can grow together, and move on together."

Gabby stared up at him for a few moments after he'd finished speaking. Finally, she smiled softly.

"Good answer." she whispered, standing on her tiptoes once more to hug him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jay's arms slowly wrapped around her lower back before practically crushing her to his chest, his head lowering a bit closer to her shoulder. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Jay kissed Gabby on the cheek and pulled away.

"So, come on. I want to hear you say it." Jay teased, smirking slightly at her.

Gabby sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. "Okay, fine." she relented, "I _suppose_ you could be my boyfriend." she teased, as if she was doing him some huge favor.

Jay's smirk widened, and he tickled her in retaliation.

When they finally said goodnight, Gabby entered her dorm and got ready for bed as quietly as possible so as not to wake Freddie. The extent of her 'getting ready for bed' was changing into a t-shirt and shorts, undoing her braid, and simply falling into bed. As she was burrowing under the covers, Gingersnap hopped down and snuggled into Gabby's neck.

Gabby rubbed her cheek against her parrot's soft feathers. Her chest felt warm and light after her evening with Jay, and her cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. It was certainly a feeling she could get used to.

 **AN: Yay! First date and first kiss! Review and let me know what you all thought about this chapter! And any guesses on what idea Gabby had at Tiana's Palace that she wasn't quite ready to share with Jay?**

 **Also, you can completely ignore this, but I have no one else to talk about Descendants with, so I'm just going to throw this out there. A few D3 theories randomly popped into my head the other day. They're making it way too obvious that Hades is Mal's dad, to the point part of me thinks Hades isn't really Mal's dad.**

 **So, one theory I have is that Hades isn't Mal's dad, but maybe Maleficent made a deal with Hades to trap Mal's dad in the underworld because she hated him so much. I mean, I don't think I've heard Mal call Hades 'Dad'. She called him Hades in the trailer, but in the original teaser she called the little blue flame 'Dad'. Maybe her dad managed to contact her from the underworld in that teaser trailer?**

 **Another theory I have, is that Hades is really Evie's dad, or something. I mean, they both have blue hair, right? I don't know, that popped in my head.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Ch 30:**

Cool water was soaking into the front of Gabby's shirt, but she ignored it. Her focus was on the viewfinder of her camera. She zoomed in on a couple specific strands of lush green grass. Her focus was originally just taking a few pictures of some grass sprinkled with early morning dew. However, she accidentally zoomed in too far when focusing the camera, and realized how much more interesting she could make these photos. She was currently taking a few photos of two or three strands of grass, while the rest was a green blur in the background. The couple strands of grass in the focus of the image had big, round drops of dew, which had interesting, colorful patterns reflected inside.

The ground almost shook as someone threw themselves down on the ground at Gabby's side, making her jump slightly. She glanced over to see Jay staring ahead at the grass, probably teasingly trying to figure out what she was looking at.

"Can I help you?" she asked lightly, focusing back on her camera.

"What are you doing? Taking pictures of grass? That's a little boring, isn't it? Like watching paint dry?" Jay asked.

Gabby sighed, holding her camera to the side so Jay could see the pictures she'd taken. Jay stared at the screen of the digital camera as she flipped through a couple images. "Oh. Okay, that's actually kinda cool." Jay admitted.

"Mhm." Gabby hummed in agreement before turning the camera off. She figured she'd taken enough photos of the grass for the day.

"Those for the fundraiser?" Jay asked as Gabby sat up. Jay rolled onto his back next to her, putting his hands behind his head.

Gabby nodded. "Yeah. I kinda figured I could…maybe focus mostly on pictures of things that people from the Isle don't get to see. Things that people here in Auradon take for granted. We never got to see grass that was that green on the Isle. There's hardly any grass at all. And I doubt a lot of people here in Auradon would look at grass and see it the way they might in those pictures."

Jay grinned. "I doubt anyone anywhere could see the world the way you do." he told her.

Gabby rolled her eyes, smiling even though she tried not to. Reaching over, she shoved Jay's red beanie down over his eyes, making him laugh.

"I'm thinking of finally going out and buying my own camera." Gabby announced randomly. "The ones Tara and the others have suggested cost between $50 and $200. I've finally got enough money saved up that I know I can buy one and still have money leftover."

"Why do you need to buy one? Doesn't that one work just fine?" Jay asked, nodding slightly to the camera she was fiddling with in her lap. The same gray one with a few dents and a number 2 on the side that Lilo loaned to her at her very first club meeting.

"Of course it's fine. But,…" Gabby paused to chew on her lip, wondering if she should just admit her plans to him right then. It had been almost a week since their date at Tiana's Palace, and she'd been keeping her idea a secret while doing some research.

"I've been thinking of starting my own business." she admitted quietly, glancing over at Jay to see his reaction.

He was staring thoughtfully up at the sky above them, slowly nodding his head before his eyes flicked to her face.

"A photography business?" he guessed curiously.

Gabby nodded, looking down at the camera in her lap once again. "I'm still only thinking about it, though. I've looked into it, and photographers don't make a lot of money. Of course, I could just do it part time, and work with Evie more. Her business is growing and I could help her with sewing and stuff. Or I could also do events, like weddings and things."

"You made like $150 just that one night." Jay pointed out incredulously. How could she say photographers didn't make a lot of money?

"Yeah, but how often are those kinds of galleries?" she asked rhetorically. "Even if I made that much a week, that's not a lot. For now, sure, but not after school. I'd need to make at least $500 a week to get by around here. Of course, I've looked into selling my photos on websites and stuff. That way I'd save money not having to pay for a building or gallery, or splitting profits with the gallery owners."

When Gabby glanced over at him, she found Jay smirking slightly as he looked up at her.

"You've really looked into this, huh?" Jay noted, not really asking a question.

Gabby blushed slightly. "I might have stayed up late a couple nights, using Freddie's laptop to look some stuff up." she admitted.

Jay chuckled. "I figured. I think it's a great idea." he told her honestly. "It's something you love doing, and you're good at it. And you can find a way to do some good with it, like you wanted."

Gabby looked down at him, her eyes softening. Of course, Jay of all people would understand perfectly why she wanted to do this.

"Exactly." she whispered. She stuffed her camera into her bag before laying down on the wet grass next to Jay, their shoulders touching. Gabby didn't even care that the dew was seeping into her shirt.

"So, do you want to go into town or something on Saturday to buy a camera?" Jay asked curiously, both staring up at the fluffy white clouds floating across the pale blue sky.

Gabby grimaced slightly as she glanced over at him. "Uuuuuumm,…" she dragged the word out awkwardly, "I was already planning on going with Tara and Aria, so they could help me pick the right camera. Sorry." she told him, hoping he wasn't upset that she was hanging out with people other than him.

Jay looked at her like she was crazy. "Why are you apologizing?" he asked with a slight laugh. "I don't want your life here to revolve around me. I hang out with different friends, like Aziz, Tyrone, and the guys. If you want to make friends with people in the photography club that's perfectly fine."

Gabby smiled, relieved that he said that. She had no clue what she was doing as far as being a girlfriend. She didn't want to make her life revolve around Jay, but he'd always been important to her, long before they were allowed to admit it.

"You distracted me." Jay suddenly announced.

Gabby blinked, staring at him. "Um,…I'm sorry?" she asked.

"You should be." Jay smirked, making Gabby smack his shoulder. "I came over here to ask you something and you distracted me with your weird grass obsessions."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "You're annoying." she told him. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Wanna hang out this Saturday night? After you get back from town?" he asked.

Gabby blinked. "We just had a date last weekend." she pointed out.

"It doesn't have to be a date." Jay shrugged. "Although, I suppose it technically would be." he admitted thoughtfully. "There's this movie I've been wanting to see, and Herkie got it on DVD and said he could loan it to me. We could watch it on Carlos's laptop in our dorm or something, maybe order a pizza or ice cream or something. Just something simple. I think you mentioned something about pizza and a movie, right?" he teased.

Gabby rolled her eyes, but grinned at him. At least he listened to what she said. "I suppose I could squeeze you into my busy schedule." she joked.

"Gee, thanks!" Jay laughed, reaching over and tickling her.

*~0~*

"Okay, you want a great digital camera that will last you a long time, with lots of memory space, good for long and short distance photos, so you'll probably want to stick with one of these." Tara announced confidently, gesturing with her arms at a broad selection of cameras on the rack in front of them.

Gabby browsed the options, as did Tara and Aria. It was the following Saturday morning, and Tara had given them a ride in her Jeep into town to pick out a camera for Gabby. They had a couple different stores in mind to check if this first one didn't have what they wanted, but Gabby thought this store had plenty of options. She should be able to find a camera she wanted.

They skimmed thoughtfully for a few moments before Gabby's attention zeroed in on a red and black digital camera that looked a bit like an old retro style camera like what Aria used with a round, black lens that stuck out a bit on the front. Gabby picked the package off the rack and turned it over to skim the information on the back.

"What about this one?" Gabby asked the others. They approached her and checked out the camera she held.

"Ooh, yeah, that's a good one." Tara agreed. "You have that same one, don't you, Aria?"

Aria nodded. The only difference was hers was light blue and about a year old.

Gabby smiled slightly as she looked down at it. She wished she could test it out before buying it, but if the others thought it was a good camera there probably wasn't a need. And it had a 1 year warranty.

"Okay, I think I'm buying this one." Gabby decided.

"Sweet!" Tara exclaimed. "That leaves us the rest of the afternoon to hang out! Let's go to the Mad for Tea Café."

So, Gabby paid for her new camera, which cost her about $190, and picked out a $15 camera bag that Tara insisted she'd need. With those paid for, the three girls headed out and stopped at the café for some snacks and drinks. They all split a plate of cupcakes, and they each bought something warm to drink.

"So, Evie told me your fundraiser is in two weeks." Aria stated, leaning back in the comfy blue couch in the café. Gabby and Tara were curled up with her, each nursing their own warm teacup.

Gabby nodded, blowing on the steam floating from her cup of cappuccino. "Yeah, we decided on the last Saturday of the month. We've got most of the details and ideas worked out, and that should give us enough time to spread the word and get everything set up."

"Are you still looking for donations for the bake sale?" Aria asked. "I mentioned it to my parents. My mum said Nanny wants to bake a bunch of cupcakes."

"That's great!" Gabby grinned. "If they have any questions, Ben or Evie would know all the details about when and where to drop stuff off."

"My mom was thinking of donating banana bread." Tara added. "Of course, that depends on her successfully getting plenty of bananas without my dad, Grandma Kala, or Aunt Terk eating them all."

"They like bananas?" Gabby guessed.

Tara grinned sheepishly. "They're gorillas." she admitted.

Gabby blinked. "Wait, what?"

"You ever heard of Tarzan?" Tara asked.

"Oh! That's your dad?" Gabby asked. She'd heard of Tarzan, but only a little bit. He'd been raised by gorillas since he was a baby. On the Isle there was a man named Clayton who'd tried and failed to capture all the gorillas and ended up dying before he was brought back to life and imprisoned. Gabby still couldn't understand why they brought all the dead villains back to life. Most of their problems would have been solved if they'd left the dead villains dead, like Maleficent and Ursula.

Tara nodded. "Yep. That's my dad. My parents and I live in a tree house in the jungle. I don't exactly go around bragging about that. I'm not ashamed of it, of course. I love my home. I get homesick all the time. But can you imagine what people like Audrey would say if they knew? They would never understand how I could possibly survive without material possessions and a giant castle, and I honestly don't feel like explaining it to them."

Gabby nodded. "I can understand that. It's hard for people like that to understand what life can be like for people who aren't rich or royal. So anyway, your mom wants to donate banana bread? I haven't had that in years. I think my mom made it once when I was little."

Tara and Aria paused and exchanged a glance.

"You don't talk much about your parents." Tara noted slowly.

Gabby looked down into her mug, silently kicking herself for her slipup. She wasn't sure how many people knew who her parents were, and she'd wanted to keep it quiet for as long as she could. But then again…Tara and Aria were her friends. They were good people. They weren't judgmental in the slightest, and Tara went out of her way to get Gabby to join the photography club in the first place.

"My father is Gaston." she admitted, her voice quiet and slow as she continued to second-guess saying it out loud.

Tara and Aria exchanged another glance, only looking a tiny bit surprised.

"I'm assuming Ben knows that." Aria guessed.

Gabby nodded.

"And your mom?" Aria asked curiously.

Gabby lowered her cup, cradling it in her palms in her lap. "Her name was Rosalie. She was put on the Isle for stealing when she was a poor orphaned teenager. She eventually ended up with Gaston, more for the easy life he offered. All she had to do was take care of the house and give him kids, and he did the rest. She gave him four kids, my three older brothers and me. Gaston's very sexist, and he didn't think girls should have an education. So, he made me stay home and learn to cook and clean while my brothers went to school and he went hunting. My mom secretly home schooled me, though. At least, until I was eight years old when she got sick and passed away."

"I'm so sorry." Aria said quietly, sounding and looking honestly empathetic. Tara was the same.

"It sounds like your mom actually loved you." Tara noted quietly. "Not a lot of Isle kids have that, from what I've heard."

Gabby nodded. "Yeah. I was lucky on that front."

There was a moment of silence before Tara changed the subject. "Anyway, now that you have a fancy new camera, are you going to donate a whole bunch of new pictures to the fundraiser?"

Gabby gaped slightly for a moment. "How did-Who-?"

"Evie might be hyping it up a bit." Aria admitted with a laugh.

Gabby also laughed. "Of course she is."

"You going to sell any pictures of Jay?" Tara asked deviously, smirking over her cup.

Gabby blushed and grimaced slightly. "No, that'd be weird."

"Oh, come on!" Tara laughed. "Do you know how much some people would pay for a photo of him without a shirt?" she teased.

Gabby covered her face, but she was unable to stifle her laughter. "Stop! That's weird!"

"So, were you and Jay dating back on the Isle?" Aria asked curiously after their laughter had quieted slightly.

Gabby shook her head, picking her mug back up. "No. No one dated on the Isle. The closest thing to a bond you had over there were partners or gang members. Why?"

"Well,…there've been rumors." Aria admitted.

Gabby tensed slightly. "Like what?" she asked warily. She might be comfortable enough to tell her friends about her mom, but she didn't know if she'd ever want anyone knowing about her and Jay sleeping under a shelf, and the fact that she was technically his property at one point.

"Well, Jay wasn't exactly subtle in how much he wanted to get you off the Isle." Tara admitted. "The R.O.A.R team doesn't typically gossip about their own teammates, but Chad is an anomaly. And he has a big mouth. Apparently Jay really wanted to get you off the Isle. And he was the one to go get you and bring you to Auradon. And you two have almost always been together since you got here. You two being a couple just seemed to make sense."

Gabby blushed, staring intently into her cappuccino. "Yeah. I've heard." she admitted.

"And then you wore Jay's jacket at that sword meet." Aria added. "That got Audrey gossiping."

"Me and Jay have only been a couple for a week." Gabby explained.

"But you knew each other long before that, right?" Tara guessed.

Gabby nodded slowly. "We met when I was 12. Jay was 13. I guess…I was sorta his henchman." she explained briefly, her mind flying back to that time like it was only yesterday. Standing in front of her father, where he stood on an old wood crate; her brothers behind them and a growing crowd in front. She remembered the shame and her eyes burning with tears she couldn't let fall. She remembered her too-small boots hurting her toes and her tattered red dress squeezing her midsection. She remembered all the different people calling out offers, several boys making crude comments about her and making her skin crawl. She remembered believing that Ursula's bet would win, which just now made her realize how different her life could have turned out that day. If Ursula had won that day, Gabby would have gone home with her, likely becoming a waitress or something at her chip shop, and probably a member of Uma's crew eventually.

It was scary to think about.

But that didn't happen. Instead, a gangly young boy with long brown hair, barely classified as a teenager, stepped out of the crowd with a cloth sack of stolen belongings that he offered as payment for her.

That day had changed her life. And now, she could honestly say it was for the better.

"I can't see you being a henchman." Tara announced, bringing Gabby out of her thoughts and back to the conversation.

Gabby smiled slightly. "Yeah, but there really wasn't a good word for whatever I was back then. Other than maybe wimp." she joked. "It was…complicated."

Tara and Aria exchanged another glance.

"What about just 'friends'?" Aria suggested.

Gabby chuckled. "Well, we weren't really allowed to have friends on the Isle. But I suppose that's what we were. We just never acknowledged it."

"Safe to say you're glad to be out of there?" Tara guessed.

"You have no idea."

 **AN: Thank you to everyone for all the reviews! Let me know what you all thought of this chapter, even though it was pretty uneventful.**

 **ThatMeepViolet: Yes! I completely agree! When I first saw the little blue flame in the teaser, I thought of the wisps from Brave, too. Mor'du would totally make sense as Mal's dad, more than Hades in my opinion.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Ch 31:**

Gabby only had to wait a few moments after knocking for the door to open. Jay grinned at her and held the door open more so she could walk in.

"Hey. Pizza should be here in five minutes and Carlos won't be back until curfew." Jay told her as she walked in. She'd been in Jay and Carlos's dorm a few times. Across the room from the door was a window that overlooked the school yard. In front of the window was a small bookshelf, which had a model sailboat and a couple trophies on it. There were also two beds, one on each side of the window. It was easy to tell which bed belonged to which boy. In front of one bed was a chest that had dog treats and toys on top of it; in front of the other was a similar chest that had sports equipment on it.

Gingersnap flew off Gabby's shoulder and landed on the headboard of Jay's bed. Gabby had felt bad leaving Gingersnap in her room so often with school and her trip into town earlier that day with Tara and Aria. So, she'd asked Jay if she could bring her and he was fine with it.

"So, what movie are we watching?" Gabby asked curiously, plopping her bag onto a chair at the table in the middle of the room, kicking her boots off.

"It's called _Dragon Fire_." Jay answered. "It's some movie that just came out a few months back, based on a famous tourney player. It's supposed to be really good."

Gabby smiled, tilting her head slightly as she sat on the edge of Jay's bed. "What sport do you like better? Tourney or R.O.A.R?" she asked curiously.

Jay paused in grabbing Carlos's red laptop off the table. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I love R.O.A.R. It's more about skill and agility than brute force, but I'd have to say tourney. Playing tourney when we first came here was like the only place I could fit in and sort of be myself while learning the whole teammate thing. And I formed friendships with the guys on the tourney team that…grew into real friendships outside practice and games. One of the main reasons I tried out for R.O.A.R was because most of my tourney teammates did."

Gabby smiled. "When does tourney season start again? I can't wait to see you play in person."

"Just a few more months." Jay answered, setting up the laptop so that the DVD's main menu was playing on the screen. "It starts a few weeks after R.O.A.R ends."

"Do you ever take a break?" Gabby asked playfully.

Jay smirked. "You don't get muscles like this taking a break." he boasted, flexing his arms. Gabby snorted, trying and failing not to laugh.

"True. With the way you eat you can't afford to take a break." she joked.

Jay smirked, opening his mouth to retort when there was a knock on the door. Gabby smirked, crossing her legs and getting more comfortable on the bed while Jay paid the pizza delivery guy.

"What kind did you order?" Gabby asked curiously as Jay carried the box and paper plates over to the bed.

"Sausage." Jay answered. "I think you liked that one at Tony's, right?" he teased. Gabby blushed, remembering her first trip to Tony's.

"Maybe." she admitted, scooting over in the bed. It took a minute of situating, but they found a comfortable position with both Jay and Gabby sitting up in the bed against his pillows under the covers. The laptop was sitting up on the bed between their legs with their plates of pizza on their laps, the box sitting on the other side of Jay's legs.

The movie was about two hours long, and Gabby found she actually enjoyed it. Sure, it was partially about tourney, but it was also about a real person. It was interesting. The guy didn't have a hard life by her standards, but by Auradon standards he had his struggles. He'd played tourney on his hometown high school team and was set get a scholarship to play for some big college until he got hurt during a game. He lost the scholarship and ability to play tourney. Eventually, he ended up getting a job coaching a losing high school tourney team, which he turned into champions while falling in love with the music teacher.

After eating three slices of pizza, Gabby threw her plate away and snuggled a little closer to Jay's side, leaning her head against his shoulder while he put his arm around her shoulders. When the movie ended, they lazily watched a few music videos and looked up other movies that were coming out they might want to see.

Gabby didn't realize she'd dozed off until she was woken up. By something hitting her in the face.

It didn't hurt, but Gabby's eyes flew up in surprise and her head jerked back a bit so she could assess the situation.

It was dark, both due to it being night out and the lights in Jay and Carlos's dorm being off. She was still in Jay's bed, laying curled on her side. Across from her was Jay, but he was tossing and turning slightly, sweat sticking his long hair to his face, which was scrunched up in a grimace.

Gabby slowly sat up, still partially asleep, as she tried to understand what was happening. Then, Jay's muttering slowly became words.

 _"No…stop…Gabby…Don't hurt her…"_

"Jay." Gabby whispered, reaching out her hand toward his face. Her fingers brushed his hair off his forehead just as he jerked awake. Gabby flinched back in surprise as Jay shot up in the bed. He sat there, his breathing harsh and uneven as his eyes flickered rapidly around the dorm.

"Jay?" Gabby whispered again, causing Jay's attention to snap to her. His dark eyes were so wide she could see the whites of his eyes. He seemed to look her over quickly but thoroughly from head to toe, his breathing slowly returning to normal. Well, almost to normal.

Without really thinking, Gabby leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Jay's neck. He tensed at the initial contact before relaxing and wrapping one arm tightly around her back, holding her close and burying his face in her neck. Gabby noticed and didn't mention that his breathing was still shaky.

"I'm fine." Gabby whispered, playing with the long, slightly sweaty hair at the back of his neck. "I'm not hurt, Jay. They can't hurt me anymore. I'm here in Auradon with you. Jafar can't hurt either of us anymore."

Jay sucked in a deep breath, and it came out shaky even though he nodded. After a few moments he pulled away, his eyes lowered in embarrassment.

"Thanks." he whispered. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to-"

"Jay." Gabby interrupted him, laying her hand on his bare shoulder. "Stop. We've both been through a lot, it's natural that it still affects you." Jay was still looking away shamefully. "What did you say that night after our first date? When you convinced me to be your girlfriend? Something about me understanding what you've been through? That you're going to have bad days where you aren't able to be tough or happy. And you feel like you can be yourself with me?"

Jay rolled his eyes slightly, but his lips twitched upward in a small grin. "Something like that." he admitted.

"I remember you mentioning before we rescued King Ben that you were having nightmares about the Isle." Gabby noted. "I didn't realize they were still happening."

"They're not as often, and they haven't been about you as much, since you're here. But they still happen." Jay admitted quietly, leaning forward and raking his hands through his hair, his knees bent up under the blankets.

Gabby hesitated before scooting closer and wrapping her arms around him again, leaning her head against his.

"Partners, remember?" Gabby reminded him quietly. "You can lean on me once in a while. You don't always have to be the strong one."

Jay looked over at her from the corner of his eyes for a moment before he turned to lean the side of his forehead against hers. "Thanks, Gabby." he breathed.

They sat like the for a few minutes, just silently breathing and taking comfort in each other's presence. Then, Gabby pulled away and gently tugged at Jay's shoulder. They both fell back on the bed and Gabby tugged at Jay until he rolled over and snuggled into her side, one arm tossed over her stomach. Gabby wrapped one arm under his neck so his head ended up resting on her shoulder. It was like Gabby was cradling him even though he was taller than her.

She could literally feel him relax against her, almost squishing her under his bodyweight. But she didn't mind. It felt reassuring. His breathing was slowing down, and Gabby wondered if he was falling back asleep.

Gabby glanced to the side, where there was a wall with a window only a foot away from her side of the bed. Under the window was a heater that looked a bit like the heater from her corner of the old hideout back on the Isle. It even made the same low humming sound. Even though memories from the Isle weren't exactly something Gabby liked, the familiar sound combined with the warmth of cuddling with Jay offered enough of a comfort that she soon found herself falling back asleep.

*~0~*

Carlos quietly slipped into his dorm room with Dude at his feet two minutes after curfew. Due to Jay wanting to have a movie date night with Gabby in their dorm, Carlos had to make himself scarce for most of the evening. So, he hung out with Jane at the library for a while, the couple making a brief trip to the kitchen for some ice cream before Carlos walked her to her dorm. His longer-than-planned goodbye is what cost him the extra two minutes but he certainly didn't mind.

The room was dark, the only light from the moon shining outside. It wasn't like Jay to already be in bed only at curfew, especially if he hung out with Gabby.

Carlos could see a pizza box and paper plates shoved into their trash can, and his red laptop was just visible on the blue comforter of Carlos's bed. Carlos shrugged out of his jacket as he headed for his bed, but a quick glance at Jay's bed made him do a double take.

Instead of one form in the bed, there was two. Jay and Gabby were cuddled so close together they'd looked like one person in the dark at first glance. Gabby was sitting a little bit higher than Jay, whose head was resting on Gabby's chest, his arm wrapped around her as if she were a teddy bear. Her arms were wrapped around him, as well.

Carlos grinned slightly. Part of him wanted to give Jay a hard time for this, obviously some other time, like the next day. But at the same time he knew how hard it was for Jay to get close to anyone or be vulnerable. It was difficult for all of them, but Jay especially always felt he had to be stronger, tougher than everyone else. Carlos was glad he felt safe enough with Gabby that he could admit when he wasn't as strong. Carlos may tease him about this in the future, but he wouldn't tell anyone else about what he was seeing. It was Jay and Gabby's business.

Carlos looked toward his own bed, where Dude was already perched by the pillows. The little brown mutt was also staring at the couple in the other bed. When Dude turned to look at Carlos, he opened his mouth to say something, but Carlos put a finger to his lips, silently telling his dog not to say a word. He didn't want to disturb the sleeping pair.

He also needed to have a serious talk with Dude about how he shouldn't repeat everything he hears. Jay was about ready to ring his neck after all the things his dog has blurted out.

*~0~*

"Jay won't like this idea." Gabby admitted quietly, glancing around even though she knew no one could overhear them through Evie's closed door.

"Probably not." Evie agreed. "But you can't really blame him. We've all been through a lot over there, you especially."

"I know that." Gabby agreed. "I don't even really want to go over there, but…at the same time I feel like I almost _have to_. And it's not like I would be alone. Several of the King's couriers are going to pick up the next group of people, and I'd probably stay close to them."

"Exactly." Evie agreed. "But you know, despite how you feel, you really don't have to."

"But I do." Gabby argued. "I-"

"What are you girls talking about?"

Gabby winced, glancing over her shoulder as Jay entered Mal and Evie's dorm, plopping down on Evie's bed where Gabby was sitting, sewing a dress Evie had designed for a customer.

"You know, it's good manners to knock before entering a girl's room." Evie told him primly, though she was partially teasing him.

"Oh, my humblest apologies, princess." Jay teased her back, bowing from his seat on the bed. Evie grabbed a pencil off the table next to her and threw it at him, causing both Jay and Gabby to duck to avoid being hit. "So, what were you girls talking about?"

Gabby's smile at their antics instantly disappeared and she looked down to pretend to focus on the dress she was working on.

"Just girl stuff. Nothing you'd be interested in." Evie told him smoothly.

But Gabby sighed, knowing she needed to talk to Jay about her plan, and the sooner she got it over with the better.

"Um, Evie, I'm actually going to get going." Gabby told her friend, standing up and carefully setting the dress on the desk in front of the fireplace. She met Evie's eyes and saw understanding in them. "I'll work a bit longer tomorrow to make up for it."

"Don't worry about it." Evie waved her off. "Let me know if you need anything."

Gabby nodded with a grateful smile before turning toward the door. She met Jay's eyes as she passed the bed and saw that he was watching her, his expression one of worry and confusion. She gave him a smile and jerked her head toward the door, silently asking him to come with.

Jay got up, saying goodbye to Evie, and followed Gabby next door to her dorm with Freddie. Thankfully, Freddie was gone, probably hanging out with Claudine or some of the other Anti-Heroes.

"What's wrong?" Jay asked as soon as he closed the door behind him. "Did I do something?"

Gabby shook her head, turning and sitting on her bed. Gingersnap instantly perched on her shoulder. "No, of course not. I just…need to talk to you."

Jay eyed her warily as he sat next to her. "Why does that phrase scare me, then?"

Gabby smiled softly at him, briefly leaning her head against his shoulder before sitting straight again. She turned on the bed, tucking one leg under her so she could completely face him. Finally, she decided to just blurt it out.

"I want to go to the Isle."

Jay's eyes shot wide open and he stared at her in shock.

"You _what_?" he asked, completely surprised.

"Well, 'want' is probably not the right word, more like I need to, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. No. You don't need to go to the Isle." Jay interrupted. "I brought you here so you wouldn't have to go back to that ever again. And now you want to go _back_?"

Gabby sighed. "Not permanently. Not even for very long. Look, King Ben is sending another group of couriers this Saturday to pick up some families and little kids to bring to Auradon. I was thinking of going along to take some pictures to sell at the fundraiser."

Jay sighed, raking his hands through his hair. " _Why_ would you need to go to the Isle of the Lost for pictures?" he demanded. "There are plenty of places here in Auradon where you can take pictures that are a thousand times better than any garbage you can get on the Isle."

"I don't just want to take pictures that look nice." Gabby told him quietly. "This fundraiser is for the Isle. I want to show the people here just how bad it is over there. Maybe then more people would understand."

"Then do what you did with the picture of Hadie!" Jay exclaimed. "Just set up some scenes here at the school and take pictures that way. Why do you want to go back there? You've been beaten and attacked there. Why would you willingly go back?"

Gabby's face hardened. "You don't need to remind me of what I went through over there." she told him tightly. "I was there. I remember it very clearly. But as nice as a lot of the people here in Auradon are, they have no clue what we've all been through. If we could just give them some idea-"

"They don't need to know anything." Jay snapped, standing up abruptly. Gabby thought for a second he would leave, but he just started pacing. "The people here, they don't need to know what we went through. Not that much. Not enough for you to risk your life going back there for some pictures. They sure as hell don't need to know what our parents were like. Like your dad selling you to the highest bidder."

Gabby took a deep breath. "With all due respect, I'm not asking your permission, Jay." she told him simply, making him stop and stare at her. She stared right back. "I'm going whether you like it or not. I'll stay with the couriers and take whatever pictures I can in whatever places they go to, I won't stray anywhere by myself, but I _am_ going. I'm just telling you out of respect for you. If you want to go along to make sure I'm safe, that's up to you. I won't expect you to come along. I can protect myself just fine if it comes to that."

Jay stared at her for a long moment, and Gabby couldn't really tell what he was thinking or feeling. Other than maybe surprise at everything she just said. Finally, he sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. He turned and sat down on Freddie's bed across from Gabby, so they were facing each other only a few feet apart. Jay was silent for several moments after that, just staring Gabby in the eye as if searching for something. Gabby wanted to look away, but she didn't. She didn't even blink despite her eyes starting to burn.

"I don't want you to get hurt." Jay finally whispered, so quiet Gabby almost missed it. "I know you can take care of yourself, but…"

Gabby's eyes softened and her shoulders relaxed, the fight leaving her. She scooted over slightly on her bed and patted the spot next to her. Jay got up and returned to his spot next to her. Gabby took his hand, and he squeezed it comfortingly.

"I'm sorry." Gabby whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. Their movie night was only a few days ago, so seeing Jay having a nightmare was still fresh in her mind, and it was probably still fresh in his, as well. "I don't want to worry you, that's not why I'm doing this. I just want to do some good, to help the people on the Isle that need it. I'll admit, I'm terrified of going back. But I'll be careful. The couriers have made several trips there already to bring kids to Auradon and they haven't run into any trouble yet. They take precautions, they know what they're doing. I'll stick close to them the whole time, and I'll even bring my naginata for protection. I won't take any unnecessary risks. I promise."

Jay turned and looked down at her, his brown eyes searching hers. "What about me?"

"You don't have to come, Jay. Not if you don't want to." she told him. Truthfully, she would feel much better if he did come. But she knew that returning to the Isle last time dredged up lots of terrible memories that he wanted to keep buried; memories that became more nightmares. She didn't want to put him through that. But she also had a feeling he would insist on going, to protect her. He finally got her out of that hell, he wasn't about to let her go back without him.

So, she wasn't surprised when his resolve hardened in his eyes. "If you want to go, I'm coming with you. But you're not leaving my side the entire time."

Gabby smiled softly, lifting her hand that wasn't being held by his and lightly touching her fingers to his cheek. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his for a few moments before pulling away and whispering, "Thank you."

One corner of Jay's lips twitched up slightly. "Partners, remember?" he joked slightly. It was a phrase that they found themselves using frequently since they first made that agreement to be equals.

Gabby returned the grin. "Partners."


	32. Chapter 32

**Ch 32:**

Gabby wanted to say she was being paranoid. She really did. She felt like everyone was staring at her. But she'd had enough experiences in her life to know when someone was watching her, and she knew for a fact she wasn't imagining it.

By the time lunch rolled around, Gabby was sure her face was stained red with a blush and she had to fight not to lower her head and hunch her shoulders. She dragged her feet across the courtyard toward a picnic table where she saw some of her friends, trying to ignore the stares and whispers that followed her.

Under a tree, several of her friends were seated at a picnic table with their lunch trays. Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay were sitting there, but Gabby was confused to see that Tara and Aria had stopped to talk to them, all of them looking serious, concerned, or even uncomfortable. In that moment, Jay looked between the two girls and met Gabby's eyes. He instantly stood up and moved around the two girls, heading toward her. Gabby hesitantly slowed her pace as he quickly reached her, putting one arm around her and leading her in a different direction.

"What-"

"Come on." Jay told her quietly, his hand lightly pressing on the small of her back. They walked until there were no other students around to watch or listen to them. They found an abandoned picnic table and Jay silently urged Gabby to sit. She did so, setting her tray down on the table and turning expectantly to Jay as he sat next to her.

"Okay, so…" Jay trailed off, glancing around awkwardly. "Has anyone said anything to you? Or…you know…"

"Is this about the staring?" Gabby asked nervously. "I've noticed people staring and whispering a lot." she admitted when Jay looked at her.

Jay sighed, reaching over and taking her hand in his. "Some rumors are going around." he admitted quietly, and Gabby's stomach dropped.

"What now?"

"Well,…there are a lot of rumors going around since this morning, but…they all seem to branch from one rumor, which Tara and Aria told us about before I saw you just now." Jay explained slowly, as if he was forcing the words out because he knew they needed to be said.

"Jay, just spit it out." Gabby whispered.

Jay sighed. "It sounds like Audrey started a rumor; Aria overheard her talking to some other girls about it this morning." Jay's dark eyes met Gabby's blue, watching her cautiously. "She was telling them your father sold you into slavery."

Gabby's breath caught in her throat and she felt nauseous. "Wh-How did she-?"

"I'm not sure." Jay admitted, dropping his head. "The best I can come up with-Maybe she overheard something? Her dorm is just down the hall from yours, isn't it? Maybe she overheard you or someone else say something."

Gabby tried to steady her breathing, but she felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack. "S-so, the whole school knows? They know my father-"

"They don't know anything." Jay whispered, putting both hands over Gabby's and causing her to look at him again. "They're spreading rumors like a bunch of children, because Audrey feels the need to get attention or something. I don't know what she heard or why she started spreading rumors. I'm not even sure what all the rumors are. But from what I have heard, all anyone thinks they know that's close to fact is that your father sold you. They don't know who he is, or who he sold you to, or anything like that. It's just some crazy rumors. They'll all blow over before you know it."

Gabby took a deep breath, trying to steady it as she clutched Jay's hand.

"But there is one more thing." Jay admitted uncomfortably.

Gabby swallowed a lump in her throat. "Now what?"

"Well,…some of the guys saw you leave my room Sunday morning." Jay admitted. It had been a few days since their movie night that turned into a sleepover. "The guys from my team didn't saying anything except to ask me about it, well, and give me a hard time." Jay admitted with a small grin. "Unfortunately, some other guys must have seen you leave, too, because that's all over the school, too. The fact that you stayed the night in my dorm."

Gabby groaned, dropping her face into both palms. She felt Jay's hand rub her back between her shoulders, but it didn't make her feel much better. Then, her face peaked out from her fingers.

"Are we going to get in trouble?" Gabby whispered. "That's probably against the rules."

Jay sighed. "I'm not sure. Hopefully, the teachers don't pay much attention to rumors. If someone does mention it, I'll take care of it. I'm the reason you stayed in the dorm."

Gabby's brows furrowed in concern. "Jay…"

"It'll be okay." Jay insisted, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

*~0~*

Gabby spent the rest of Tuesday keeping her head down and avoiding everyone while the stares and whispers followed her everywhere. She did the same on Wednesday and for the first time since coming to Auradon, she found herself dreading going to photography club Thursday, where she was sure several of her friends would be asking questions.

After classes on Wednesday, she stopped at her locker to put her things away, taking out what she needed for homework for the evening. She glanced up and smiled at Jay as he approached her from the other end of the hallway.

"Gabby?"

Gabby turned to look over her shoulder to see King Ben and Mal standing behind her. Ben looked mildly uncomfortable while Mal had on her best poker face. That immediately put Gabby on edge and she found herself tensing as she glanced between them. She felt a hand on her back and warmth from another body behind her and knew that Jay was there.

"Yes?" she asked warily.

Ben glanced at Mal before meeting Gabby's eyes. "I was hoping to talk to you. Both of you, actually. Could you come to my office, please?"

Gabby turned to look up and over her shoulder at Jay, who looked down at her. She felt his hand move on her back, just a quick and reassuring touch before he looked back to Ben.

"Sure." Jay answered curtly.

Ben turned and lead the way toward his office, Mal walking at his side with Jay and Gabby walking behind them. Jay moved his hand from Gabby's back to hold her hand, his grip tight and comforting.

The walk felt long and torturous, filled with stares and whispers as they passed people. Finally, they reached the King's office, which Gabby hadn't entered since her and Evie met with him about their ideas to help the Isle.

Ben opened the door and waved them all in ahead of him. Mal confidently strode right in with Gabby hesitantly following behind, followed by Jay, and with Ben bringing up the rear and closing the door behind him.

Gabby hesitated even more at the sight of Fairy Godmother standing behind the desk waiting for them. Ben walked past them and sat in his chair behind the desk, gesturing with his hand to the chairs waiting in front of the desk. Gabby and Jay slowly sat in them, and Gabby was slightly surprised that Mal stood next to Gabby's chair instead of Ben's. It was as if she was subtly standing with them, should things go south.

"Some…concerning rumors have been brought to my attention." Ben started slowly, folding his hands atop the desk.

"With all due respect, Ben, how are high school rumors the concern of the King?" Jay asked bluntly. "The Headmistress, I can understand," he added, nodding to Fairy Godmother, "but why you?"

"I'm here more as your friend than as King," Ben explained, "but if there is some truth to these rumors, it could very well be my concern as King if it relates to life on the Isle of the Lost." Turning to the woman at his side, Ben added, "Why don't we start with the least concerning of the rumors, first. Fairy Godmother?"

"Of course." she agreed, turning to the two teenagers in question. "It's been brought to my attention that you spent the night in Jay and Carlos's dorm room Saturday night." she said to Gabby, who looked down awkwardly. "Gabby, you must know that's against school rules. Not only were you out past curfew, and you know how I feel about that, but you were also in the boys' dormitory after hours. That violates at least two school rules."

"Fairy Godmother, please, it was my idea." Jay cut in, reaching over and holding Gabby's hand in her lap, unconsciously shielding her with his arm. "We were watching a movie and we just fell asleep. We didn't do anything wrong. If you want to punish someone, punish me."

Gabby looked up worriedly in time to see Fairy Godmother and Ben exchange a glance. She couldn't let Jay take the fall. Sure, she'd mostly stayed because he had a nightmare, but what if he got in trouble? What if he got punished, or sent back to the Isle?

"I had a nightmare." Gabby blurted out, causing all eyes to zero in on her again. "I had a nightmare on Saturday, and Jay helped me. It-it was about the Isle. And Jay knows more about my life on the Isle than anyone else. So he helped me through it. Nothing else happened, I swear."

Fairy Godmother's eyes softened while Ben glanced between Mal and Jay, who Gabby knew were keeping straight faces. She was confident they wouldn't rat her out. Mal didn't know the whole story, and Jay wouldn't want to admit it was him who had the nightmare.

"Well,…in that case, we can let it go this one time." Fairy Godmother conceded. "But this can't happen again. The rules are in place for a reason." she told them firmly, to which Gabby and Jay both nodded.

"On that note," Ben continued, "the other rumors we've been hearing."

Gabby's eyes found her lap, realizing she was unintentionally squeezing Jay's hand.

"Gabby, I know this probably isn't the most fun topic." Ben told her gently. "But we need to know what's fact and what's fiction in these rumors. If there's any truth to any of these rumors…we need to know."

"Why?" Jay asked instead. "What good would it do, talking about it now? It's in the past. You can't change anything."

"I may not be able to change the past," Ben agreed, "but if others on the Isle have similar situations, any information you give me may be able to help them."

Gabby's eyes fell shut in defeat. That one argument was enough to make her talk. If telling the truth could help others on the Isle, she was willing to do it.

"What do you want to know?" she asked tiredly, causing everyone to once again look at her, but her eyes remained fixed on her knees. Jay squeezed her hand where they were still linked in her lap.

"The truth." Ben answered simply.

Gabby thought that was rather vague, but she figured he wouldn't know enough about where she should start.

"You both already know about my parents." she started quietly. "My father is Gaston, and my mother, Rosalie, died when I was eight years old. I was home schooled until then, and I basically just cooked and cleaned for my father and brothers."

Gabby took a deep breath. The rest would be the hard part to explain. She kept her eyes down, unable to look anyone in the eye.

"By the time I turned twelve my father had decided it was a waste of time and money to keep around a useless girl. So,…he took me into the marketplace one day and…offered me up to the highest bidder."

Heavy silence followed Gabby's words. She wondered if she should continue with the story, but then decided to wait for them to prompt her to continue. That would give them time to process the bombshell she'd just dropped.

"Let me get this straight." Ben started, leaning forward heavily with his elbows propped on the desktop. "Your own father… _sold you_?" he repeated, the words dripping in disbelief and horror.

Gabby nodded once curtly, still refusing to raise her eyes.

"And other people…they actually…they bid on you?" he checked, still in shock. "They offered up money for you?"

Gabby nodded, then shrugged. "Well, not so much money. Most people on the Isle don't have money to spare. Most of them offered up…possessions, or favors or something. Weapons, gems, potions, food…Stuff like that."

"And…is that… _normal_?" Ben asked, still clearly trying to wrap his head around it.

"Not really." Mal answered for her. "Sure, kids get treated like dirt by their parents all the time, that's normal. But most parents don't actually _sell_ their kids."

"So,…who…bought you?" Ben asked, the words clearly uncomfortable as they left his lips.

Gabby chewed her lip, barely glancing at Jay from the corner of her eye.

"I did." Jay answered abruptly. Gabby's eyes snapped up to stare at him to see him with his chin raised defiantly, staring Ben and Fairy Godmother down, as if daring them to say something.

As expected, Ben and Fairy Godmother gaped at him, looking both shocked and slightly horrified.

" _Don't_ judge me." Jay ordered tersely. "You two have no idea what life on the Isle is like for a kid. Especially kids that are alone and can't protect themselves. You didn't see what I saw that day. You didn't see _her_." Gabby could feel herself blushing and looked down again. "One look at her, and I knew she wouldn't be able to survive. Not with how some of those guy were talking about her. Can you image what some villains would do to a teenage girl that was considered their _property_?"

"But…you…" Fairy Godmother stuttered slightly, clearly still recovering from her shock. "You two are…dating…Is that really…appropriate?" she asked weakly.

"That's our business, no one else's." Jay answered, his voice tight.

"I bought my freedom." Gabby answered quietly, still not looking up. "I haven't been Jay's…I've been my own person for a while. And even before that, I never really felt like I was his property. It felt more like…an assistant. Or something. I worked in Jafar's shop with him, I cooked and cleaned, I did Jay's homework. It really wasn't that bad. I actually…I actually liked my life there better than my life with Gaston. And anyway, since we started dating, Jay and I have been really careful not to…blur the lines or whatever. It was a little awkward at first, but we're still working through it."

There was a long stretch of silence as Gabby's words sunk in.

"May I ask,…well, you said you cooked and cleaned for Jay and his father." Fairy Godmother finally broke the silence. "But, didn't you do the same when living with your father and brothers? How were the two so different?"

Gabby paused thoughtfully. How could she describe the significant differences between living with Gaston and living with Jafar, without getting into the awful details?

"I didn't have anyone to stand up for me at Gaston's." Gabby finally answered, her voice quiet and eyes distant, lost in her memories. Memories of many beatings and attacks that went undefended.

"Your brothers didn't stand up for you?" Ben verified. "Gil didn't seem so bad. He didn't even do anything?"

Jay winced and glanced carefully down at Gabby, whose face went stony at the question.

She swallowed thickly, trying to rein in her anger before she answered honestly. "He would try to stick up for me once in a while when we were little." she admitted. "But after getting beaten for his attempts, he eventually stopped and just watched our father take his anger out on me with his fists."

Fairy Godmother and Ben both winced.

"It was different at Jafar's. Jay always made sure to direct his father's anger away from me. He made sure to take the brunt of Jafar's attacks."

Ben moved his eyes from Gabby's face to Jay's. "Do all parents on the Isle physically attack their children?"

Jay grimaced. "Not really, no. But one thing Jafar and Gaston have in common is they have a…slight drinking problem. And short tempers."

"There's all kinds of abuse and neglect on the Isle." Mal cut in. "Mostly it's mental and emotional. Parents telling us we'll never be good enough, we'll never amount to anything."

Gabby and Jay were both nodding along with Mal's observation, Gabby thinking particularly of Evie and Carlos. Evie's mother always made her feel like she was never beautiful enough, always pointing out her flaws. Cruella instilling a terror of dogs in her son to keep Carlos in line, constantly reminding him she doesn't love him, at least not as much as her fur coats, and basically using him as a slave.

Ben sighed heavily, raking a hand through his hair. "There has to be something we can do. Some way to put a stop to that kind of abuse."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Mal asked dubiously. "You can't control how parents on the Isle raise their kids. And it's not like you can punish them for abusing their kids when they're already imprisoned on the Isle."

"Maybe we can just focus on bringing more kids over." Ben suggested. "The only problem is that we're reaching the end of the list you all made."

"Well, it's not like we personally know every kid on the Isle." Mal pointed out.

"Maybe we could have…sort of tryouts?" Jay suggested thoughtfully, thinking of when he tried out for tourney and Swords and Shields.

Ben's eyes lit up. "Or applications! We could have anyone who wants a chance to come to Auradon fill out applications, and we could choose them that way."

Gabby smiled slightly, glancing over at Jay, who grinned back at her.

"Perfect." Mal answered with satisfaction. "Should I tell Evie to meet with you so you two can draw up an application?"

"Yes, that'd be great. Thanks, Mal."

"So, are we done here?" Jay asked, getting ready to stand up. "You know the truth. You can quit worrying about us now."

Ben and Fairy Godmother exchanged a glance, and the Headmistress still looked slightly worried.

"Well, I suppose so." she finally answered, her eyes moving back to Gabby's. "But if you-any of you-ever need to talk to someone, we have professionals here who would be happy to help."

Gabby and Jay exchanged a glance, keeping their dubious thoughts off their faces if not their eyes. If they needed to talk to someone, they had each other. None of them felt comfortable talking to a stranger who had no way of knowing what they went through.

But they both nodded with small smiles, appeasing the worried fairy, before they were dismissed.

Gabby couldn't help a sigh of relief when the office door closed behind them, her hand finding Jay's as they walked down the hallway.

"Well, that wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be." Jay admitted as they walked.

"Yeah. I guess." Gabby agreed quietly. "And I suppose something good kinda came out of it, too, huh?" she added, referring to the idea of villain kids filling out applications.

Jay nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it did."

 **AN: To be honest, I added in this chapter at the last minute. Most of the stuff in this chapter wasn't originally going to be in this story. But then a few people left reviews about people finding out about Gabby being Jay's property, and this idea kind of sprouted from that. I honestly didn't intend for there to be any foreshadowing of the truth coming out, but I'm actually really happy with how this turned out.**

 **Plus, it lead to the idea of the Isle kids getting applications, which was mentioned in the** _ **Good to be Bad**_ **music video for Descendants 3. Which, apparently, premiers on August 2. I'm so excited!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Ch 33:**

After zipping up her jacket, Gabby grabbed her camera, double-checking that the battery was full before putting it in a small leather pouch on her hip. She checked herself over one last time in the mirror in her dorm. Her black and red hair was wavy just past her shoulders. She was wearing a dark red leather jacket with a black hood, ripped black skinny jeans, a small burgundy leather pouch that was attached to a belt around her waist, and black combat boots.

Deciding she looked fine, Gabby turned and headed toward the door, holding up her wrist and whistling once. Gingersnap instantly flew across the room, perching on Gabby's wrist as she left the room. The little parrot slowly shuffled her way up Gabby's arm to her shoulder, where she perched comfortably as Gabby left the school. It took a few minutes, but Gabby soon reached the front of the school where the others were waiting for her. There were six couriers in blue and yellow suits, two drivers, Jay, King Ben, and Mal all waiting by two limos parked in front of the school. Ben and the others had agreed to keep as much of the truth about Gabby and Jay's past a secret from the rest of the public. It obviously wouldn't look good, especially for Jay, if the truth came out. Gabby hurried past the Beast's statue and joined them.

Jay grinned at her. "Ready?"

Gabby returned the grin with a smaller one. After all, she wasn't exactly looking forward to this trip. "Ready."

"Good luck." Ben told them all, holding Mal's hand. Mal nodded once to Jay and Gabby, looking tense. Gabby and Jay nodded in return before they got into the limos. Gabby and Jay got in the second limo with a couple of the couriers, and off they went.

"Swear you'll stay by my side the whole time we're there?" Jay checked quietly from his seat next to Gabby in the limo.

Gabby glanced at him. "Only if you swear the same." she countered.

Jay smirked slightly. "Okay, deal."

They were silent as the limo continued on it's way. Gabby glanced toward the front of the limo and when she saw the familiar golden glow of the bridge she unzipped her pouch. Standing up carefully, Gabby slid open the window that was on the roof of the limo.

"What are you doing?" Jay asked, grabbing onto her belt when she swayed slightly.

Gabby grinned down at him slightly. "What I came here for." she answered before sticking her head out of the roof. She pulled up her camera and turned it on, keeping careful hold of it as she aimed at where they were going. In the viewfinder, it showed them going into a tunnel made of magical, golden strings, going straight toward a broken-down old brick bridge on an island. Gabby snapped several pictures as they drove, even turning around to get pictures of the way they came before closing the window and returning to her seat with a satisfied smile.

They reached the Isle only a minute later, and the drivers pulled the two limos into a hidden back alley, where they parked. Everyone filed out of the two limos until they stood in a group. The two drivers stayed with the limos while the rest of the group headed into one of the alleys, lead by one of the couriers who held a map. Gabby's positive attitude diminished almost as soon as she'd stepped out of the limo. She squared her shoulders as they began their trek, but she stayed close to Jay's side.

"Where exactly are we going?" Jay asked, walking near the front with the courier holding the map.

"We're picking up three families. One of them is known to live in this side alley." the courier explained, pointing at the map. "The other two are a bit farther away, more towards the center of the Isle." the courier then glanced thoughtfully at Jay. "Any chance you might know any safe shortcuts to get there?"

While Jay discussed that with the courier, Gabby turned on her camera and scanned her surroundings for ideas for photos. As they continued on down the alley, she saw a booth selling rotting food. It had baskets of old vegetables, crates with jars of something liquid and fuzzy. Gabby quickly glanced around before snapping several photos of that booth as they passed, even ducking down slightly to get a few close ups that were more level with the baskets.

They turned a corner into another alley that was lined with the shelters of homeless people. Gabby felt like she'd been punched in the gut and thrown into a whirlwind of memories. Tattered sheets made up dozens of tents and shelters against the walls. Gabby subtly snapped a few photos along the way before the group came to a stop in front of one particular shelter. When Gabby looked inside, she instantly recognized it and the people inside. The ground was covered in sleeping bags, blankets, and a fur coat. There was a pile of clothes in the corner and a cardboard box filled with blankets and a sleeping infant. Sitting next to it was a young woman with frizzy black hair and a young boy with shaggy brown hair. The small family looked up through the small shelter's entrance when the group stopped outside.

"Are you Miss Sage?" one of the couriers asked quietly.

"I am." she answered quietly while the little boy scooted in front of his mom, glaring defiantly up at the couriers even as his little body trembled. Sage rested her hands on his little shoulders. "Have you come to take us to Auradon, then?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, we have. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, we are. I may need a bit of help carrying a few things. I have a baby to carry, as well." Sage told them, glancing around at the meager possessions in the shelter.

"You're not taking my mom away from me, are you?" the boy asked, caught between looking defiant and scared.

"No." one of the couriers answered. "You're all going to a new home, where you'll be safe."

Sage and the little boy crawled out of the shelter.

"Logan, carry this." Sage told her son, passing him a small cloth sack. He held it with both hands, glancing anxiously up at all the adults around him. When his eyes landed on Gabby, they widened.

"You're Gabby." he whispered. "You're the girl who gave us food."

Before Gabby could do much more than smile, Logan slowly approached her, holding the sack in one hand, and wrapped his little arms around her waist in a hug. Shocked, Gabby returned the hug, wrapping her arms around his little shoulders. She met Jay's eyes and saw that he was smiling. She returned it slightly before looking down at the little boy, who was just pulling away. She knew there was no way any of her photos could capture the raw emotions this moment was stirring up.

When Logan pulled away, Gabby glanced over at Sage, who was holding her baby in her arms while a courier held the cardboard box. She met Gabby's eyes and smiled gratefully.

The group continued on to the next destination. Jay was careful to lead them down paths that were less likely to get them spotted by the wrong crowds. Along the way, Gabby made sure to snap lots of photos. She got several of the homeless families and their pitiful shelters. They neared the town square but didn't get too close to it. But Gabby was able to snap a few photos of Bargain Castle, where Maleficent and Mal used to live. It was rundown, some of the lower walls were covered in graffiti, and a couple of the windows were shattered.

On their way to pick up the other two families, they passed Dragon Hall and Gabby managed to get a few photos of the graveyard before they moved on. After picking up the others, they headed back the way they'd come, though Jay picked a different path just in case.

They reached the limos with no problems and got the three families in the limos. One courier got into the front of each limo with the drivers. Jay and Gabby got in the back of one limo with Sage, her baby, Logan, and two couriers. The last two couriers and a family of four got into the other limo, along with the twins Squeaky and Squirmy Smee, who Big Murph specifically asked be brought over.

Before Gabby got in the limo, however, she saw the view of Auradon in the distance through the hazy barrier. She pulled out her camera and got a few photos of the view before getting in the limo, slamming the door shut behind her. The two limos pulled away and began the journey back to Auradon.

The journey started out slightly awkward. Logan kept gaping out the window, but when anyone tried to talk to him, he attempted to hide in his mom's shoulder. Gabby eventually to got him to come out of his shell a bit by getting him to try some of the candy in the limo. They eventually made it a sort of game by trying as many of the different colorful treats as they could and comparing them. Gabby even let Logan convince her to try the rock candy, laughing at her face when she crunched into it. Logan even volunteered a bit of information on his baby sister, Hayden, who was 4 months old and apparently likes to pull hair.

When they reached Auradon, the driver asked Jay and Gabby if they wanted to be dropped off at the school first, or if they were fine with the others being dropped off at the shelter first. Not quite wanting the day to be over, Gabby said she was fine to wait, and Jay agreed.

Logan returned to his seat next to his mom and he was whispering something to his little sister, who Sage kept propped up on her lap. Hayden was laughing as she watched her big brother eat sour gummy worms. Smiling warmly at the sight, Gabby silently lifted her camera and snapped a photo of the little family. Lowering the camera from her face, she pulled up the photo she just took and admired it, feeling Jay lean closer to look at it over her shoulder, as well.

"Are you glad you did this?" Jay whispered near her ear. "Going to the Isle?"

Gabby smiled, turning off her camera and looking up at him. She cast one glance at Sage and her children, taking in the relaxed, warm smile on the young mother's face.

"Yeah." Gabby whispered. "Yeah, I am."

*~0~*

"I still don't see why you won't let me see some of the photos you're gonna sell." Jay said as they entered the school kitchen.

"Don't take it personally. I'm not really letting anyone see them until I actually put them out at my booth tomorrow." Gabby told him, turning on all the lights in the large kitchen. "Well, Lilo's seen a few of them, because she's been helping me with the frames."

"And may I ask…why?" Jay asked.

Gabby shrugged, washing her hands at the sink before going to the fridge. "Surprise? I don't know. I just want to keep it a sort of secret."

Jay sighed heavily, hopping up on the metal table in the middle of the kitchen. "Alright, sure. Whatever. I guess I'll wait. So, what are we making tonight?"

"You're sure you want to help me?" Gabby checked, turning back to him with a cake pan she'd pulled out of the fridge.

"I mean, I'm not a great cook, but I could try." Jay answered with a slight shrug.

"Great." Gabby grinned. "Take off your gloves and thoroughly wash your hands. I think you're going to like this recipe."

Curious, Jay did as he was told before meeting Gabby back at the metal food prep table. He looked into the cake pan at the already-made chocolate cake.

"Am I decorating a cake?" Jay asked curiously.

"Not quite." Gabby answered. She then proceeded to pick up the chocolate cake with her bare hands, taking it out of the pan and putting it in a large glass bowl, breaking into three large pieces in the process. "Using your bare hands, break that up until it's fine and crumbly, basically just a bowl of crumbs. And _do not eat any of it_. If you behave, I'll let you have some of the finished product."

Jay grinned. "Yes, Ma'am." he agreed before doing as she said, mashing the cake up with his bare hands. While he did that, Gabby spread the two recipe sheets she'd printed out on the table, and collected all the other ingredients she would need for the two recipes.

"Now what?" Jay asked. Gabby paused and looked at the bowl, seeing that the cake was thoroughly broken into crumbs. She picked up the jar of chocolate frosting and a spoon and placed them in front of him.

"Add a little bit of frosting at a time, and mix it in with your hands. Probably only a couple spoonfuls total should do."

Jay nodded, popping open the lid on the frosting. "Are you ever going to tell me what it is I'm making, or is it another surprise?"

Gabby chuckled, putting almost a dozen apples in a strainer so she could wash them all in the sink at once. "You're helping me make Cake Pops. And I'm making Apple Brown Betty."

"What's a Cake Pop?" Jay asked, confused.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

Gabby quickly got to work on peeling and cutting the apples while also helping Jay with the Cake Pops.

"You excited for tomorrow?" Jay asked as he got started forming the cake and frosting mixture into small balls using a mini ice cream scoop like Gabby showed him.

Gabby hummed and shrugged as she started laying the apple slices out on a lightly greased pan. "Excited. Nervous. Petrified. Take your pick."

Jay chuckled, glancing over at her. "What's there to be scared of?"

Gabby also chuckled, though it was slightly nervous. "I don't know." she admitted. "I mean, it's not like I was in charge of the whole thing. Evie was. But I guess,…in a way, I kind of was, you know? Or at least, I'm invested enough that if something goes wrong I'm going to feel like it's my fault. Or something. And I mean, I'm going to be selling more of my photos, which is still terrifying despite how well that gallery went. And I'm basically going to be…launching my business tomorrow. Or revealing it or whatever you'd call it. Announcing it to the public."

Jay nodded in understanding. "It'll all be fine. Your photos are all amazing. People will be fighting over who gets to buy them. Of course, I could tell you for sure how good they are if you let me see them." he added, partially joking.

Gabby laughed. "Nice try. But thank you. I appreciate that."

"No problem. So, Evie said she helped you pick out a logo?"

Gabby sighed. "She swore she wouldn't mention that."

"She didn't give a lot away." Jay assured her. "Just that you asked for her opinion on a few designs. And it sounds like you didn't even have the name on it or anything. It's still completely secret."

Gabby nodded. "Yeah. I'm kinda nervous about that part, too, I guess. I don't know what people are going to think of the logo or my business's name. I actually made the logo." she admitted. "It was a photo I'd taken. I was messing around on the editing software after a club meeting and figured out how to make the photo into a sort of sketch or line art type picture. I really liked how it turned out and thought it would be perfect for the logo."

Jay grinned over at her. "Sounds great. I can't wait to see it tomorrow."

*~0~*

"You're getting much better." Gabby tried not to laugh as Jay pulled another white chocolate-coated cake ball out of the cup. He twirled the stick until it stopped dripping. He then shook some sprinkles over top of it before sticking it in the board with the other finished Cake Pops to dry. His first few were less than perfect, but Gabby didn't really care. They looked fine and they were edible. That was all that mattered to her.

"Ha ha. Thanks." Jay told her sarcastically.

Gabby laughed, picking up another Cake Pop on a stick to dip it in the tall cup of melted white chocolate.

"What else do we need to do?" Jay asked as she decorated the Cake Pop with sprinkles and put it in the board to dry.

"We can put these in the freezer a bit to speed up the chocolate setting. Then we just need to put these bags over them and keep them somewhere cool until tomorrow. Hopefully somewhere no one will find them." Gabby answered, glancing over at the timer on the oven, where the mouthwatering cinnamon, apple smell was wafting across the kitchen. They still had about 40 minutes left before the Apple Brown Betty was ready to be taken out of the oven.

A few minutes later, they were done with the Cake Pops, and Gabby carefully carried the board holding them to the large stainless steal freezer.

"What do you want to do with the rest of this chocolate?" Jay asked, looking down into the cup of remaining, cooling white chocolate.

"Um, whatever you want." Gabby answered distractedly, carefully placing the board on a bare shelf in the freezer. When she turned around, however, she was shocked when something poked her cheek, near the corner of her lips. She froze, gaping at Jay's smirking face as he withdrew his white chocolate-coated index finger.

After a few moments, Gabby raised her hand and brushed at her face, finding cooling chocolate on her cheek.

"Did you seriously just smear chocolate on my face?" she asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow at him.

Jay shrugged, smirking deviously at her. "Maybe. What are you going to do about it?" he challenged.

Gabby narrowed her eyes at him, a small smirk tugging at her lips. He held up the cup of the remaining chocolate, wiggling it teasingly near her face. Gabby lunged for it, but Jay managed to keep it just out of her reach, causing her to practically follow his hand in a circle. Finally, she managed to grab it and yank it out of Jay's hand. She stuck a finger into the chocolate and smirked at Jay.

"Don't even-" Jay laughed, already backing away. Gabby didn't listen, racing after him with the cup in one hand and holding out the other hand that had the chocolate on it. Jay ran from her, instinctively running around the metal table in the middle of the kitchen so they were almost running a lap around the kitchen. As Gabby slid around the corner of the table, she set the cup on it so she had a free hand, which she used to latch onto the back of Jay's leather jacket.

They struggled for a few moments, both laughing at how ridiculous this probably looked. Gabby refused to let go of his jacket, trying to reach around and smear the chocolate down his face. Jay latched his hand around her wrist, holding it away from his face. Using that grip, Jay spun her around until he had her backed up against the table, one hand still gripping her wrist and the other on her waist. Gabby tried yanking her hand free, but Jay's grip, while not painful, was impossible to break. He just smirked at her feeble attempts.

Finally, Gabby paused, unable to hide her grin even as she caught her breath.

"Give up yet?" Jay taunted, smirking at her.

Gabby narrowed her eyes, but dropped her head slightly, letting her hair swing forward and hide her face from view. Her hand was rested on his bicep, where she had just been trying to push him away. Biting her lip, she slid her hand up until it rested on Jay's shoulder.

Jay's smirk dropped a smidge, watching Gabby and wondering what she was doing. He'd never seen her do something like this before. It was completely unexpected.

Gabby knew her face was bright red, but she just ignored it and focused on her hand. She knew if she met Jay's eyes she'd lose her nerve. Taking a deep breath, she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

Jay paused in responding. Sure, Gabby had kissed him before, but he was still completely confused. They'd been messing around, playing and goofing off, and now she was suddenly…kissing him? However, his thoughts quickly flew to the back of his mind as he returned her kiss. He stepped closer, crowding her in against the table as his one hand slid from her waist around to the small of her back. Gabby's hand slid up from his shoulder to his neck, threading into his long hair. Jay's other hand slid from her wrist down her arm, his fingers leaving a tingling trail that gave Gabby Goosebumps.

If she let herself, Gabby could have easily lost herself in the kiss. And she almost did.

Almost.

But with Jay distracted, he didn't notice that he'd released Gabby's wrist. He'd slipped both arms around Gabby's waist, holding her close as he kissed her nearly-senseless. But Gabby had just enough sense to reach her now-free hand behind her back, where the cup of melted chocolate still sat.

Jay was enjoying himself, kissing his girlfriend like he never had before. But that enjoyment drew to a screeching halt when he suddenly felt something warm, wet, and sticky on his face, causing his eyes to fly open as he leaned backward.

Gabby burst out laughing, her hand held up as she stared at his face. Her hand was coated in the white chocolate, which she'd used to smear completely down Jay's left cheek. His absolutely astonished face just made him look even more hysterical. And some of his hair had the chocolate clumped in it.

"Did you just-?" Jay cut off, unsure where to even begin. "You-you kissed me, but it was a distraction so you could-I can't-"

Gabby laughed harder at his shocked stuttering. Jay's shock finally wore off and he smirked deviously at Gabby, making her laughter slowly die in her throat.

"Oh, it is _on_." Jay declared, snatching the cup of chocolate out of Gabby's hand while holding her in place with his other arm wrapped around her waist. Gabby squirmed and twisted, trying to get free while she shrieked with laughter. Despite her struggle, Jay managed to smear a good handful of chocolate across her cheek, neck, and into her hair. Since it was cooling more and more with each minute, it was more lumpy and cool, but somehow even more sticky.

Gabby shrieked in protest. "No! Jay, gross! Stop it!" Her protests weren't taken very seriously considering she was still laughing.

"What's the matter?" Jay teased, still holding her in place with one arm. "Can't take what you can dish out?"

Gabby continued to struggle and wiggle, eventually managing to knock both herself and Jay over, both tumbling to the ground next to the table. Jay managed to move so that he landed next to Gabby instead of crushing her. They both laid on their backs on the kitchen floor, still laughing and trying to catch their breath.

"I hate you." Gabby managed to say after a few minutes, though there was obviously no real malice or anything behind it. She was joking.

"You started it." Jay argued with a laugh.

"I did not!" Gabby countered instantly. "You smeared chocolate on my face first."

Jay paused, realizing she was right. "No, you said I could do _whatever I want_ with the leftover chocolate. So, you started it." he countered stubbornly.

Gabby laughed, shoving at his shoulder. "You're such a pain." she told him before sitting up. She glanced around the kitchen, getting a look at the timer on the oven. Their little game had lasted almost ten minutes. They had about half an hour before they could take the Apple Brown Betty out of the oven.

"We should probably start cleaning up." Gabby announced, looking around at the mess they'd made, between the baking and their little food fight.

Jay groaned, not moving from the floor. "I don't wanna clean up!" he whined. Gabby narrowed her eyes, smirking slightly down at him.

"You volunteered to help me. And you helped make most of this mess. Therefore, you're going to help me clean it up. _Or. Else_." she added threateningly, jabbing a finger into his ribs twice to emphasize her last two words. Jay winced and scooted away from her before pulling himself into a sitting position.

"Fine. Fine." Jay relented, pushing himself up to his feet. He offered his hand and Gabby grasped it, letting him pull her to her feet.

Working together, they got the kitchen cleaned up in time for the Apple Brown Betty to finish baking. Gabby let it cool before covering it and hiding it somewhere in the fridge. Both Jay and Gabby tried cleaning most of the chocolate off themselves, but it was dry and crusted to their skin and hair.

They also took the Cake Pops out of the freezer and put little plastic bags over them with ribbons to keep them closed. All but one, of course, as Gabby had promised Jay one of them for helping.

"I wasn't sure about these at first, but they're _awesome_!" Jay exclaimed, eating the Cake Pop in about two bites.

Gabby laughed, letting the kitchen door swing shut behind them as they headed out into the dark school. "I'll keep that in mind next time I help with a bake sale."

Jay chucked the stick into a trash can they passed as they headed into the dark hallways, heading back toward the dorms. "Still nervous about tomorrow?"

Gabby thought about it for a moment. "Oh. Yeah, I guess. A little. But I completely forgot about it for a couple hours." she smiled up at him. "Thanks, Jay."

Jay shrugged, tossing his arm over her shoulder. "I didn't really do anything. I can't help it I'm just so much fun to be around that you forget all your worries in my presence."

Gabby snorted, covering her mouth with her hand in amusement. "Sure. That's what it is." she agreed sarcastically. Jay's arm around her shoulders tightened until he practically had her in a headlock. Gabby tried to keep her laughter quiet, since it was late and nearing curfew.

Jay eventually let go of her neck, but he swapped his hold to her hand, their fingers interlocked as they moved through the hallways and up stairways of the dorm rooms. When they turned into the hallway that Gabby's dorm room was in, they saw Evie and Doug talking outside Mal and Evie's dorm room. The other couple turned and smiled at them as they drew closer. Then, Evie's mouth fell open.

"What _happened_ to you two?" she asked, her hushed voice doing nothing to mask her surprise.

Gabby and Jay exchanged a glance. There were still dusty white smudges on Jay's left cheek and a bit of his eyebrow, and a couple pieces of his hair were clumped together with some of the dried chocolate. Gabby was sure she didn't look any better.

"Oh, you know." Jay shrugged, turning back to the other couple. "Baking is very messy business."

Evie and Doug both nodded with dubious, amused grins. "Right. That's what happened." Evie agreed sarcastically.

Jay made a face at her before leading Gabby around them. "Goodnight." he told them pointedly, moving on down the hallway toward Gabby's dorm. She stifled her chuckles as they reached her door.

"Thanks again for helping." Gabby told him, turning to look up at him. When her eyes landed on the strand of chocolate-coated hair, she couldn't help herself in reaching up and brushing it out of his face with her finger. When she met his amused eyes, she blushed but forced herself not to look away. "I'm probably going to need a shower before bed. This chocolate is getting itchy." she joked, lightly scratching at her neck where Jay had smeared some under her hair.

Jay chuckled. "I'd say sorry, but…it was too much fun."

Gabby lightly shoved at his shoulder, but she barely moved him. "I should've got more in your hair." she complained lightly.

"Oh well." Jay shrugged, smirking slightly. "Too late now."

"Don't give me any ideas." Gabby threatened him lightly.

Jay grinned, quickly leaning down to press a quick kiss to Gabby's cheek. Before he could pull away, Gabby grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him on the lips before letting him pull back. Jay grinned at her.

"See you tomorrow." he told her, squeezing her hand before turning and heading back down the hallway. He caught up with Doug and the two walked together toward the boys dorms.

Gabby smiled at his back before entering her dorm. Freddie was in her bed, sitting up and watching something on her laptop. Gabby scratched Gingersnap on the head before grabbing whatever she needed for a shower. There was no way she'd get any sleep with the sticky, crusting feeling of dried chocolate on her hair and skin.

 **AN: I want to start by saying Rest In Peace Cameron Boyce, the actor who played Carlos in Descendants. You will be deeply missed. I hope they put some kind of tribute to him in** _ **Descendants 3**_ **.**

 **Also, I've had someone ask how many more chapters are left in this story, and I probably should have mentioned it already, but I guess I forgot. Or the end came much sooner than I thought it would. It kind of snuck up on me.**

 **Unfortunately, the next chapter is the last one for this story. I've lead it up to the third movie as best I could without knowing too much about** _ **Descendants 3**_ **, and I think Gabby has made some serious progress and character development, and has started finding her place in Auradon. I think that's probably the best place to stop for this story. Who knows, I may be struck with inspiration by D3 and may write a sequel, but I'm not positive. I also have a few other ideas for stories I may write. Who knows what the future holds?**

 **Anyway, review and let me know what you all thought of this chapter!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Ch 34:**

Gabby lifted the sheet one last time to peak under it despite the shadow it cast. Deciding it looked fine, she dropped the sheet back over the table and glanced around at her surroundings.

The fundraiser had come a long way since Evie, Gabby, and Dizzy started brainstorming the whole thing weeks ago. It was now so large, it was taking up a good portion of the school's front lawn. It was almost like a fair or something.

There was a large banner that read: 'Isle Strong Fundraiser' hanging across the wall of the castle. There were also several booths all around the lawn. There was the bake sale booth that was so large it took up a few tables worth of food. Tiana had actually brought her own little set up so she could make fresh beignets throughout the day. On one side of the bake sale booth was Evie's booth, where she was doing her Buy-One-Send-One deal with a bunch of new clothes, so for every piece bought a similar one was sent to people on the Isle. Dizzy's booth of handmade jewelry, right next to Evie's booth, was doing the same thing. On the other side of the bake sale, Ben and his mother, Belle, had set up a used book sale table. Apparently they had more books than they really needed. And they'd decided that the proceeds from the book sale would go mostly to the Isle's schools. Which Yen Sid would ensure went to good causes and not teaching villainy.

A little farther down, Anxelin and her mother, Rapunzel, were setting up a kids arts and crafts booth. Ruby had told Gabby about it at their last photography club meeting. She'd probably stop by to help her mom and sister later in the day. Apparently, both sisters had inherited their mother's creativity and love of art, but Ruby preferred photography while Anxelin preferred painting.

There were also all kinds of carnival games sprinkled throughout the yard, being run by volunteers or teachers. There was a Ring Toss, Duck Pond, and Miniature Golf. Closer to the road, some of the tourney and Swords guys put up a sign for a car wash. When Gabby heard they were doing that, she thought for sure it had been Jay's idea, or Carlos'. But they'd been just as surprised as her. The Auradon guys had decided to do it on their own.

Looking around at all this, Gabby felt her heart grow warm. Most of these people had no reason to put effort into this event. In fact, she'd almost assumed it would just be her, Evie, and Dizzy planning this whole thing. It was one thing for people to donate something to the bake sale, but it was something else entirely to set up their own booth in an effort to help raise money for the people on the Isle. It said without words that these people truly cared, and it blew Gabby's mind away.

"You know, no one can see your booth when it's covered by a sheet." a voice announced sarcastically. Gabby turned around and scrunched her nose up at Jay.

"Shut up. I'm waiting for everything to start." she told him simply.

Jay glanced toward the road that lead to the school. "Well, cars are starting to pull up now, you know."

Gabby followed his gaze and saw that, sure enough, a steady flow of cars was pulling up to the school. Her stomach swirled with nerves and she swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat.

Jay bumped the back of his hand to the back of hers. "Hey. You'll be fine. You and Evie did a great job setting all this up. It'll be great."

Gabby smiled over at him, twisting her hand to squeeze his briefly. "Thanks."

They waited a few minutes as people started getting out of their cars and approaching the school. Finally, Gabby approached the side of the table and grabbed the sheet. She took a deep breath before throwing the sheet off the table, revealing what was underneath.

Jay finally got a good look at what Gabby had spent weeks preparing. There were framed photos propped up all over the table, almost too many to fit. Unlike at the gallery, all these photos had price tags on them.

There were some photos he recognized, like some from the day they'd gone to the lake. Or the close-up of the dew on the grass he seen that one day. But there were more new photos he'd never seen before. There were a couple of the magic bridge that connected Auradon to the Isle. There were a lot of photos that were taken of the Isle, and Gabby still managed to make them look amazing. There were photos of rotten food, homeless families, Bargain Castle, and several others.

And right in the middle of the booth was a sign, framed and propped up like most of the photos. It had what looked like a sketch of a rose with the words 'Isle Rose Photography' written across the rose in elegant cursive writing, the first two words across the top, and 'Photography' across the bottom.

"'Isle Rose'?" Jay read, glancing over at Gabby. "Rose, like in-"

"My mom." Gabby answered with a nod. "Rosalie. I named it after her. I think she'd like this."

Jay nodded. "Yeah, I think she would." he agreed quietly. Even though he'd never met Gabby's mom, he'd heard enough about her to know she was good person. And a good mom. She would approve of what Gabby was trying to do.

Stepping up to Gabby's side, Jay wrapped an arm around her to hold her close for a moment, kissing the top of her head before letting go and stepping away. Gabby smiled softly up at him. She knew he wasn't big on public displays of affection apart from small things. Holding her hand in the hallways was one thing, but kissing the top of her head for everyone to see was something deemed sissy. The other guys would never let him live it down.

"You want me to stick around?" Jay offered.

Gabby chewed her lip thoughtfully, glancing toward the crowd making its way toward the school. "You don't have to." she told him, trying to hide her nerves. "I'm sure there are other things you'd rather do than stick around my boring booth all day."

Jay gave her a look, then he seemed to stare contemplatively at her expression. "You'll do fine." he told her firmly. "You can do this. But I'll be around and I'll stop by throughout the day." He took her hand and gently squeezed it in his, quickly kissing her cheek. "And you look beautiful."

Gabby tried and failed not to blush. She hadn't exactly dressed up. She was wearing a fashionably shredded T-shirt that Evie had designed for her; it was mostly white with a red and black rose in the center. She also had on a red leather skirt and black combat boots. She'd been aiming for a combination Isle-Auradon style.

"Thank you." Gabby managed.

Jay grinned. "I'm gonna look around. I'll see you in a little while, okay?"

Gabby nodded, wishing him goodbye and bracing herself for running her booth on her own. If Jay thought she could handle it, then she could believe in herself, too.

As Jay walked away, the crowd arrived at the fair-like fundraiser. Many people stopped at the first few booths, while some walked right past them with quick glances. Some headed straight for specific booths, like the games or bake sale. Gabby took a deep breath as she stood next to her booth as the first few people stopped and looked at her photos.

It was about evenly split into three different reactions. Some people showed little to no interest in her booth, moving right along to something else. Others stopped and looked and seemed uncomfortable or even upset by some of her pictures, particularly the ones of children and homeless families. Gabby guessed these were the type of people who wanted to remain blissfully ignorant to the horrors on the Isle of the Lost. Finally, there were some people who actually showed a genuine interest, even asking Gabby questions about her photos and what life truly was like on the Isle.

"And the people on the Isle actually eat food like this?" a woman asked, looking both shocked and horrified as she looked at the photo Gabby took of a rotten produce booth.

Gabby nodded. "Most of the time, that's all there is to choose from." she admitted. "On the Isle, we only got Auradon's garbage, things people here wouldn't even dream of eating. When I first came here, I was shocked eating something as simple as a sandwich. I was so used to bread being crunchy, stale, even moldy."

Gabby wasn't too surprised that not many people wanted to buy most of the photos she took on the Isle. After all, who would want to hang a photo of rotten food on the wall of their home? But she _was_ surprised that some people actually donated money without even buying anything, simply asking that the money go to help the people on the Isle.

And of course, several people did buy photos. Alice, the owner of the Mad for Tea café, bought a photo of the two mugs Gabby took in her café, saying she'd love to hang it on the café's wall above the fireplace. Someone bought the photo of the dew drops on the grass. A few people wanted to buy copies of the photos she took of the waterfall, which made Gabby glad she made multiple copies of some of her photos. A few people even bought the photos she took of Bargain Castle and Dragon Hall.

Gabby smiled after another successful sale before her eyes caught sight of Carlos and Jane approaching, Dude scampering along at their feet.

"Hey, Gabs. How's it been going so far?" Carlos asked as they reached the booth. Dude propped his front paws on Gabby's knees, his little tail wagging furiously. Gabby smiled, scratching at the mutt's floppy brown ears.

"It's been going pretty well. I've sold about ten photos so far." Gabby answered, standing straight again and letting Dude drop back onto all fours again.

"That's not bad for the first hour." Jane smiled encouragingly.

"Oh! Carlos, I have something for you." Gabby remembered, moving behind her booth to pick something up from underneath the table.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that." Carlos told her, sounding surprised as she passed him a wrapped present. It was square and flat, only about an inch thick. Carlos looked it over for a moment, weighing it in his hand before ripping the wrapping paper off it. When he saw what it was, a smile spread over his face.

It was a framed photo of one of the pictures Gabby had taken of Dude when she was first learning photography. It showed Dude resting his chin on her knees, looking up into the camera with his big, brown eyes, his fur scruffy and floppy ears perked up slightly.

"I-this is…Thanks." Carlos finally stuttered, glancing at Gabby with a smile. Gabby returned it.

Dude popped up on his hind legs, trying to get a look at the photo. Carlos turned the frame so Dude could see it.

"Wow! That's one handsome dog!" Dude exclaimed, making Gabby, Carlos, and Jane laugh.

"Gabby, you didn't have to do this." Carlos told her honestly.

"I wanted to." Gabby answered simply.

"Well, thank you. I really appreciate this."

"It's going on the wall for everyone to see." Dude announced, making them laugh again.

Carlos and Jane hung out for a few more minutes before wandering off to another booth, leaving Gabby to talk to a few more people. Gabby managed to sell yet another photo when a woman came rushing up to her. Her black hair was in a perfect bob with a red headband that matched her bright red lips, which stood out against her pearly white teeth and ivory skin. She was wearing a nice but casual blue dress with a yellow skirt. Scampering along behind her was a short man with a beard and glasses, holding a large TV camera on his shoulder.

"Good afternoon. I'm Snow White with the Auradon News Network. Are you Gabby?" the woman asked, her voice warm and chipper. Gabby recognized her from the many times she'd watched the ANN on the Isle.

"Um, yeah, yes, that's me." Gabby stuttered slightly, smiling as she shook the hand Snow White offered her.

"King Ben told me you were one of the people behind this fundraiser. Would you mind at all if I asked you some questions for an interview?"

"Um, sure." Gabby answered, glancing around and wishing at least one of her friends were around. This woman was very nice and Gabby wasn't necessarily nervous talking to her, but giving an interview in general was kind of nerve-racking. Especially in front of a camera.

Snow White had the short man, who she thought Snow White called 'Doc', set the camera up on a tripod. However, he also had to climb up on a small step ladder to actually run the camera, since he was only about 3 feet tall.

"Now, this isn't going to be live, so don't worry about messing up or anything. I just want to get some footage of the fundraiser and the people running it for the news later today." Snow White told her. Gabby nodded, trying to remain calm.

When the camera was running, Doc gave Snow White a hand signal, and she turned to Gabby, holding a microphone and some index cards.

"Now, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" Snow White suggested. "Your name, villain parent?"

Gabby paused uncertainly. "Um, my name's Gabby. My…I haven't really had anything to do with my father in years. He's not a part of my life anymore." Gabby explained awkwardly. She wasn't necessarily trying to hide who her father was, but she also didn't see the need to bring him up in this conversation. Besides, enough people knew who her father was in her opinion.

"What about your mother?" Snow White urged.

Gabby took a deep breath, trying to think of what she should say about her mother. She didn't want to tell all of Auradon her sob story, but she did want to give them some idea of what life on the Isle of the Lost was like, and it was connected to her business.

"My mom…wasn't anything like most parents over on the Isle." Gabby finally admitted slowly. "Most of the parents over there don't really care about their children, they just want to raise them to be better villains than their parents were, so they won't make the same mistakes. My father was like that. But my mom…she was a good mother. She loved me, took care of me, taught me. She was a good person."

"How did she end up on the Isle of the Lost if she was a good person?" Snow White asked curiously.

"She was poor when she was younger. She stole some food to eat that she couldn't afford to buy." Gabby explained briefly. "She cared for me and my brothers, and home schooled me. Then she got sick and passed away when I was eight years old."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Snow White told her sympathetically, and Gabby briefly remembered the story of Snow White; both her parents had died when she was young. She probably understood some of Gabby's pain.

"Thank you." Gabby told her softly. "Anyway, my mother was the main reason I didn't want to be like the other villains. I never really wanted to be evil, probably mostly due to her influence."

Snow White nodded slowly, pulling the microphone back towards her once again. "How would you describe life on the Isle?" she asked before holding the microphone back out to Gabby.

"Well,…" Gabby trailed off thoughtfully, wondering how to word it. "It's…difficult. Life over there is a constant struggle for survival. You have to learn to steal and fight at a young age, because no one is looking out for you. You can't care about other people, because love and compassion and things like that are considered weak and pathetic. You can't have friends for the same reason, only gangs and sidekicks. Whatever you get on the Isle, like food or clothes or any other necessities, it all came from Auradon's garbage. Ratty old clothes, rotten food. That's what we have to get by on."

"And that's partially what this fundraiser is about today, correct?" Snow White asked, vaguely gesturing with her hand to the events going on around them. "Raising money for the Isle of the Lost?"

"Mostly." Gabby answered. "We are trying to raise money to send better quality food and resources over there, but we also want to raise awareness of what life is like over there. Evie's 4 Hearts and Dizzy of the Isle both have booths over there, and they're both doing a Buy One Send One deal. For every item you buy at their booths, something is sent to the Isle. Most of the other booths are raising money."

"And what about your booth?" Snow White asked with a glance at Gabby's table. "What are you trying to do with your booth?"

"Um, a bit of both." Gabby admitted, glancing down at the table. "I started a business while here in Auradon, and I wanted to use it to raise money and spread awareness of life on the Isle. So, half of the money I raise selling my photos will go to buying food and things for the Isle. But I also took some photos of the Isle when I went there recently to help some of King Ben's couriers collect some kids and families to bring here. To show a quick glimpse of what it's like over there."

"So, you started a photography business? And this is your business's name? 'Isle Rose Photography'?" Snow White asked.

Gabby nodded, looking at the sign with her logo that Snow White was looking at. "Yes. I named it after my mom, Rosalie. I think she'd like what I'm trying to do."

Snow White asked her a few more questions, and got some footage of Gabby's booth. She even stuck around and filmed a customer buying one of Gabby's photos before she finally had Doc pack up the camera and move on to another booth.

Jay had been watching the last few minutes of the interview, making sure Gabby couldn't see him. He wanted to make sure she knew she could do it on her own. When Snow White and her cameraman wandered off, Jay approached Gabby at her booth.

"You did great." Jay told her, holding a freshly-made beignet out to her.

"Thanks." Gabby smiled, taking the food from him. "I see you've been raiding the bake sale." she noted, glancing over the many snacks in his hands. He had a plate in one hand with different kinds of cookies, what looked like a slice of blueberry pie, and a piece of the Apple Brown Betty they'd made. In his other hand was a plate with a cupcake and another beignet.

"I'm supporting a good cause." Jay jokingly defended himself. "Your cake pops are all sold, by the way. They went fast."

Gabby smiled, feeling both proud and relieved. "Good. Do you think I should have made more?"

Jay shrugged. "Doesn't matter now, it's too late for you to make more. Besides, that one batch took forever. I slaved away over it for _hours_!"

Gabby snorted. "More like one hour." she countered, taking a large bite of her beignet.

"Looks like another group just arrived." Jay noted, nodding toward the road where a large bus had just pulled in. Gabby narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, briefly recognizing the logo on the side of the bus.

"Isn't that from the shelter Sage and her kids went to live at?" Gabby asked, trying not to get too excited.

Jay's eyes lit up with recognition. "Yeah, I think it is."

Gabby tried to focus on her booth, and the people who kept coming up to it instead of focusing on the crowd leaving the bus, but it was difficult. Her blue eyes kept sweeping over the many faces approaching the school from the bus until they landed on a familiar family.

Sage and her two kids, Logan and Hayden, were one of the families that Gabby suggested be brought over from the Isle of the Lost. Sage was a young mother with frizzy black hair, and in her arms was Hayden, her young baby daughter. Scampering along next to Sage was her son, Logan.

Gabby smiled and thanked another customer who bought one of her photos, though part of her attention was focused on Sage and her kids as they moved with the crowd, perusing the booths as they passed. Finally, Logan, who appeared slightly bored as his mother looked at Evie and Dizzy's booths, looked up and met Gabby's eyes.

His face lit up at the sight of her. "Gabby!" he exclaimed, running through the crowd until he reached Gabby's booth. She stepped around her table in time for him to slam into her, nearly knocking the breath out of her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Oof!" Gabby huffed, having to take a small step back to keep from falling over. "You're getting so big!" she laughed, hugging him back before he stepped back, beaming up at her.

"I didn't know you'd be here!" Logan exclaimed excitedly. "My mom just said there would be games and food. But she didn't say there'd be boring stuff." he added the last part with a slight grumble, glancing back toward the booths his mom had been looking at only to find her approaching with Hayden on her hip.

"They're not boring." Sage told her son patiently. "Hi Gabby. It's nice to see you again." she added, smiling warmly at Gabby, who returned it with one of her own.

"You, too. How are you liking Auradon so far? What are you up to?" Gabby asked curiously.

Sage opened her mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by her son.

"It's great!" Logan exclaimed excitedly. "We live in this big place with a bunch of other people, and I get to play with other kids everyday while my mom works. I've made a bunch of different friends."

Sage chuckled slightly, shaking her head fondly. "We're living in that shelter you all dropped us off at. They found me part-time work cooking for everyone at the shelter, and they offer free childcare. It's been a big help getting my feet under me, and figuring everything out."

"That's good to hear." Gabby agreed with a smile. "I'm actually really glad you're here." she went on, now slightly nervous though she tried to hide it. "I wasn't sure if you would come, but King Ben mentioned the shelter would be sending a busload of people. I have something for you." she explained as she stepped behind her booth, pulling something out from under the table that was hidden by the tablecloth. It was a square, wrapped present similar to what she'd given to Carlos. "Here." she said, holding the gift out to Sage.

Sage eyed it curiously as she passed Hayden to Logan, who willingly took to his little sister. She then took the present and slowly ripped the wrapping paper away while Logan stood on his tiptoes to try and see what it is. When Sage saw the gift, her eyes softened and a warm smile spread over her face.

It was a framed photo of the picture Gabby took of the small family in the limo when they brought them from the Isle. Sage was sitting in one of the seats in the limo with Hayden propped up in her lap and a warm smile on her face. Hayden was smiling and giggling, her chubby cheeks stretched wide while Logan, who was sitting next to his mom, made funny faces as he ate sour gummy worms.

"This is…I didn't even know you took a picture." Sage finally whispered, her eyes still glued to the photo. Finally, she tore her eyes from the gift to meet Gabby's eyes. "Thank you." she told her sincerely.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." Gabby replied. She didn't mention what she was sure they were both thinking. That photo was more than just a picture. It was another thing Gabby had thought of recently. Family photos, or taking pictures in general, was something people in Auradon took for granted. People on the Isle didn't care, or didn't have a reason to take pictures like this. They weren't really sentimental people, and they couldn't afford to have emotional ties to objects because someone would likely either steal it or destroy it just to be mean. Plus, they didn't usually have events that were important or happy enough that they'd want to remember it with photos.

And this photo in particular was a bit of all of those things. It was a family photo, likely the first one Sage and her little family had ever had. And it was memorializing possibly the best and happiest day of her life, the day she and her children were brought to Auradon. And it was easy to see in the photo that Sage looked truly happy and relieved for possibly the first time in her life, with nothing to worry or fret about, like safety or where she'd get her next meal to feed her children.

Sage and her kids left a few minutes later, Sage putting the photograph in her purse for safe keeping and thanking Gabby several more times. Gabby and Jay watched as Logan practically dragged his mother over to the many games set up further down the lawn.

"That was really nice of you." Jay told her quietly, the two standing side-by-side as they watched the small family for a few moments.

Gabby smiled softly, but didn't reply. She didn't really need to. She simply let her eyes travel across the grounds, taking in the hundreds of people on the school grounds, volunteering either their time or money to do something good for the people on the Isle.

The tourney and Swords guys were washing someone's van, Aziz starting a water fight by spraying Tyrone with the hose, and accidentally hitting Big Murph as well with the spray. The former pirate merely laughed and chucked a soapy sponge at the Arabian prince's face. Freddie, Yzla, and Claudine were laughing as they attempted a game of miniature golf, likely for the first time. Doug and Hadie were playing Ring Toss, the older boy likely giving the younger boy pointers. Anxelin was helping a young girl painting something at the crafts booth, a couple colorful streaks adorning her face. Carlos and Jane were at Ben and Belle's book sale, Carlos talking with Ben and his mother while Jane appeared to be engrossed in a book that she was hunched over with Hermie, both girls talking animatedly over whatever was in it's pages. There was a whole crowd around Evie and Dizzy's booths, made up of mostly girls, including Aria, Aphrodite, and Tara. At the bake sale, Squeaky and Squirmy were eating what looked like blueberry pie that Lonnie apparently bought for them, while Harry and Jace appeared to be perusing some of the other snack choices.

Gabby smiled warmly, unconsciously taking Jay's hand in hers as she watched her two very different lives basically merge together seamlessly. People from both the Isle and Auradon were coming together, forming friendships and helping do something good for people who needed it. People in Auradon were becoming more accepting of people who grew up very differently than them, while people from the Isle of the Lost were learning that there were other ways of life that didn't involve being evil. And with the applications Evie and Ben had recently sent over to the Isle, they would soon have even more people getting a chance to live in Auradon.

"What are you thinking about?" Jay asked curiously, his dark eyes fixed curiously on her expression. Gabby turned and smiled at him.

"I'm just…really happy." she finally answered. "And I suppose at least some of that credit goes to you." she added lightly, giving a small shrug as her grin grew playful.

Jay smirked slightly at her, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "I'm happy, too. And a _lot_ of that credit goes to you." he told her.

Their story was far from over, because real life didn't really have 'happily ever after's, since it just kept going. There would likely be more adventures to come, as well as struggles, fights, celebrations, and more. But they, and their friends, would get through all of it in the same way they'd gotten this far.

Together.

 _THE END_

 **AN: Wow. That ending kinda snuck up on me, so be honest. I personally really like how it ended, but I'm debating adding an epilogue later, just to give a glimpse of the future, but that will have to be after I watch** _ **Descendants 3**_ **.**

 **Speaking of, does anyone know if D3 is premiering on any channel other than Disney Channel? D2 premiered on ABC, so I was able to watch it, but I don't get Disney Channel.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for all your reviews! I appreciate them more than you can imagine! I love hearing from all of you! Pretty please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this last chapter, the story in general, and maybe let me know if you want me to do an epilogue and what you would like to see in it. Thanks!**


	35. Epilogue

**Well, I didn't get to see D3 on premier night…so I went out and bought it on DVD last Tuesday! I've already watched it like 3 times. I LOVE IT! And it did partially inspire a few parts of this epilogue. I also read** _ **Escape from the Isle of the Lost**_ **, the book in the Descendants series that takes place right before the third movie. That book also inspired several parts of this chapter.**

 **SPOILER WARNING! I tried not to give too much away if you haven't seen the third movie yet, but there are small moments, references, and little hints about what happens in the third movie, though not exactly how or why they happen, if that makes any sense. I tried not to give too much away. But be warned.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Epilogue: (Year 2018)**

Gabby looked herself over in her dorm mirror. She'd changed only a little bit physically since first coming to Auradon about two years ago. She'd grown her hair out enough that she was able to cut all the red-dyed hair off, so that it was now just it's natural black, wavy to just past her shoulders. Some simple eyeliner had been applied to make her blue eyes stand out. Her outfit was currently hidden under a long, red and black graduation gown. A matching graduation cap sat atop her head, a black rose similar to the logo of her business embroidered on the top. The personalized cap and gown was all thanks to Evie, who'd done the same for Carlos and Jane.

Their senior year had been an interesting one. Since Jay, Mal, and Evie had graduated the year before, her and Carlos were the only two of their original VK group left at Auradon Prep. Of course, they all still kept in touch on a regular basis. Evie lived in a small, adorable cottage with Doug in the woods nearby, so they saw each other pretty regularly. And Evie had of course designed some of their graduation caps and gowns. Mal and Ben got married not long after they graduated, making Mal the official Queen of Auradon, and the royal couple lived in their castle not too far from Auradon Prep.

Then, there was Jay. After graduating from Auradon Prep, Jay was accepted into Sherwood Forest University, on a full ride scholarship to play for their R.O.A.R team. With the college being about 6 hours away, though, it was difficult for both of them. Of course, they'd handled much worse things, they could handle the typical college-high school relationship separation. They visited when they could, like for school breaks and Gabby and Carlos went to a couple of Jay's R.O.A.R matches. They also talked on the phone and video chatted frequently. As hard as it was, Gabby thought it was good for them. It made them stronger, both individually and as a couple.

Plus, now that she was graduating from Auradon Prep, her and Jay had been talking about moving in together. He was currently living in the Sherwood Forest U dorms, but the college also had little cabins in the woods behind the campus that students could rent with other people on a semester-ly basis pretty cheap.

"Are you ready?" Jane walked out of the bathroom, fixing her cap on her perfectly curled, dark brown hair. She was wearing a light blue graduation gown, a matching cap on her head with a small bow on the top. Her cap and gown was also designed by Evie. Her and Gabby had decided to become roommates for their senior year after several of their friends graduated the year before.

"Yeah, we can go now." Gabby agreed, following Jane to the door.

They joined Carlos down the stairs, and all three of them took their seats with the other seniors in alphabetical order in the auditorium, a few students in between them. Fairy Godmother gave a speech, then the class King gave a speech, before Fairy Godmother called up each student to give them their diploma. The whole time, Gabby had to refrain from looking over her shoulder at the enormous crowd of family and friends in the back seats. She'd already had the chance to greet Evie, Doug, Mal, and King Ben; the latter two were up on the stage with Fairy Godmother to shake the hands of the new graduates as the King and Queen of Auradon. However, Gabby had yet to see Jay anywhere. He said he'd come, but she hadn't heard from him since the night before.

Gabby's thoughts were pulled back to the present as her row stood and headed for the stage. When it was her turn, Gabby had to take a deep breath. Sure, she'd given interviews and things for her business, but she still didn't like big crowds. She stepped up onto the stage and approached Fairy Godmother, smiling as she accepted her diploma from the Fairy. She then shook hands with Ben before moving on to Mal. Mal handed her an Auradon Prep pin in the shape of a book. She then pulled Gabby into a tight hug, something she hadn't done for the other graduates apart from Carlos.

"Congratulations." Mal whispered in her ear before they pulled away. She then discreetly nodded toward the crowd. Having been avoiding looking out at the large crowd up until they point, Gabby glanced curiously in that direction. Her smiled widened when she saw Jay, Doug, and Evie all standing up and cheering loudly as they applauded.

Blushing darkly, Gabby waved at them before stepping off the stage and taking her seat.

Now that she knew Jay was here, who she hadn't seen in over a month because they'd both been focusing on finals, Gabby felt like the rest of the ceremony dragged on for hours. But, finally, the ceremony ended and the seniors left the auditorium to see fireworks going off in the early evening sky. Gabby stuck close to Carlos and Jane as she scanned the crowd, looking desperately over the many heads in an attempt to see Jay.

Suddenly, a familiar pair of strong arms slid around Gabby's waist from behind and a voice whispered in her ear, "Looking for me?"

Gabby spun around and threw her arms around his neck. "Jay!" she squealed. He laughed, hugging her back so tightly he lifted her off the ground.

"Missed you, too, Gabs." Jay laughed into her hair. "Congratulations."

Gabby slid back to the ground, though she didn't release his neck as she grinned up at him. "Thanks."

Several of them piled into cars and drove a couple miles to Ben and Mal's castle, where they were hosting a graduation party for Carlos and Gabby. Gabby would have probably preferred a smaller party, but it was a joint party for Carlos, too, so several of their friends would be there. And Jane had pretty much set the whole thing up. Gabby was sure Jane was going to do something with event or party planning, considering how well she did with the Cotillion a couple years back.

The castle courtyard was set up with red and white decorations, tables of food, including a chocolate fountain, photos of Gabby, Carlos, and their friends, and a banner that said 'Congrats Carlos and Gabby'.

Gabby was talking to Lonnie and Big Murph. They'd both moved to Northern Wei after graduating Auradon Prep. Lonnie went straight to playing R.O.A.R professionally for Northern Wei's team, the Great Wall. Big Murph was attending college in the area, but he was in the middle of telling Gabby that he'd been in touch with Lonnie's brother, Li'l Shang, and Coach Yao of the Great Wall team and might have a spot playing professionally in a few months. He was just finishing his story when Jay joined them, wrapping an arm around Gabby's waist as he listened.

"Congratulations!" Gabby exclaimed while Jay gave the pirate from the Isle a fist bump. "That's incredible! But are you sure you two won't get sick of each other spending all that time together?" she added teasingly, glancing between Big Murph and Lonnie.

Lonnie grinned widely while Big Murph scrunched his nose up at his friend. "I think we'll be good." Lonnie told her simply. The two had started dating their senior year, a couple months after Big Murph had made the Auradon Prep R.O.A.R team after a couple seniors graduated the year before.

"Well, if you two don't mind," Jay started, "I'd like to borrow my girlfriend for a bit. I haven't had a moment alone with her, since traveling six hours to get here." he joked.

Lonnie and Big Murph backed off good-naturedly and Jay lead Gabby by the hand around the corner of the castle. Gabby smiled as she gazed around at the enormous garden Jay lead her into. Jay sat down on a white stone bench surrounded by rose bushes, tugging Gabby to sit next to him. He quickly kissed her lips and sighed.

"So, glad to be done with high school?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, but also nervous." Gabby admitted.

Jay eyed her for a moment. "We don't have to move in together if you're not ready."

Gabby smiled and shook her head. "That's not what I'm nervous about. Heck, we used to sleep under a shelf together. Just…life in general, you know? We're in this together, and I want to be able to pull my weight. Provide for you just as much as you'll provide for me. I just worry my business won't be successful enough. And we'll be far enough away that I can't really keep working with Evie. Are there any places hiring in Sherwood Forest?" Gabby asked.

"There might be a few, yeah." Jay answered. "Maybe not as many once summer's over, with all the college kids moving into the area. But you said you've been getting a bunch of calls from people since you took Ben and Mal's wedding photos and their official royal portrait."

Gabby nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Actually, Hadie has been working with me on setting up a website and stuff. And I've been thinking of adding stuff like that; you know, weddings and events and stuff. I don't like it as much as the photography I usually do, but it's pretty tolerable. Actually, doing Ben and Mal's wedding photos was really fun, but I think that's partially because they're my friends. But wedding photography actually pays really well, considering."

"And you could charge a decent price, since you've got a rep for photographing the King and Queen's wedding." Jay added.

Gabby smiled. "Yeah, that too."

Jay squeezed her hand in his. "I'm really proud of you." he told her softly.

Gabby smiled softly, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. "I'm proud of you, too."

Jay smiled, his dark eyes scanning over every inch of her face. "You've changed so much since I met you when you were twelve. Back then, you were so…small, and scared, and insecure. I've watched you grow from that girl to this beautiful, strong, kind woman. Every morning I wake up grateful to have you in my life. You have no idea the difference you've made in my life, having you to lean on. And I can't imagine my life without you in it."

Gabby smiled, tears pricking her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but then Jay slid off the bench and got down on one knee on the ground in front of her. Gabby's mouth remained open, but now it was because she was speechless. Especially when he pulled a small, black box from his pants pocket and opened it. Nestled inside was a beautiful ring; the band was a rose gold that seemed to wind around the gem, almost like a snake, and on top it almost looked like a rose with a small, red ruby nestled in the middle.

"You've become my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life. Will you marry me?" Jay asked, trying not to look awkward. He still wasn't great at expressing his feelings. It took him several months of them dating before he said 'I love you' for the first time, and even now he didn't say it often. Which Gabby didn't mind. It was more meaningful that way, to her. Plus, he showed it more through his actions.

Tears blurred Gabby's eyes as she quickly nodded her head in answer. "Yes. Yes, Jay, I'll marry you." she whispered excitedly.

Jay grinned, fumbling slightly as he hurried to take the ring out of the box and slip it onto Gabby's left ring finger. It wasn't a big, fancy ring with a giant gem like Mal's. That worked for her and Ben, but this ring was perfect for Gabby. It was small, simple, yet symbolic. And she loved it.

Jay stood up and swept Gabby up in his arms, kissing her excitedly. When they finally pulled away, they kept their foreheads pressed together.

"I love you, Jay." Gabby whispered, her hands touching his cheeks.

"I love you, too." he whispered, tilting his head to kiss her palm.

They stood like that for a while. Gabby honestly wasn't sure how long they stood there. Eventually, a loud noise from the party nearby broke into their little world, causing them to pull apart.

"We should probably get back to the party." Jay suggested with a grin. "Tell everyone the good news."

Gabby smiled widely back.

Holding hands, the two returned to the courtyard where the party was still in full swing. Almost as soon as they stepped onto the lawn, Gabby noticed multiple heads turn in their direction. Most notably, Carlos, Evie, and Doug. They were staring expectantly at the couple, Evie nearly bouncing on her toes.

Jay grinned down at Gabby before holding up their clasped hands, her left in his right. "She said yes!" he exclaimed.

Evie squealed, and suddenly several people were rushing toward the couple. Gabby laughed as her and Jay were suddenly surrounded by an excited crowd hugging them and jostling them about.

Being bumped and moved through the hugging crowd brought Gabby face to face with her brother. With Gil.

Gil was among the people who still lived on the Isle most of the time, but thanks to Mal he and the others were welcome to come and go as they pleased. After the whole Audrey-Hades-Mal incident a year ago, Gabby and Gil, as well as the rest of Mal and Uma's gangs, were forced to put their differences aside in order to save Auradon. In the process they'd all sort of become friends. It had taken Gabby a while to completely forgive Gil, but honestly…she'd probably let go of most of her anger before the whole incident had even happened.

And the fact is, Gil isn't evil. He doesn't even have a mean bone in his whole body. He's just…not the sharpest tool in the shed. And he's almost innocent in a way. While in Auradon when him, Uma, and Harry were helping them last year, he'd been so amazed by things as simple as how green the plants were, the flowers in the trees, and berries in the bushes. And seeing how he and Jay actually connected, Gabby just couldn't hold on to that last shred of anger.

 _(1 year ago)_

 _Gabby stood near Carlos and Dude in the forest, though her eyes were fixed on Jay and Gil at the berry bush, where they were eating the berries and talking. Gil had suggested doing that 'ice breaker' thing Evie mentioned earlier in the day. One person starts the game by saying something they like about the other person, and the person returns the favor. Gil had started the game with Jay a few minutes ago by saying he liked the way Jay could bounce around and jump off things. Jay, rather awkwardly, returned the favor by saying he liked how Gil got a kick out of a berry bush._

 _After a few more minutes, they moved on, following Dude's nose on the trail. Gabby and Gil ended up walking side by side in the midst of the group, Gil still snacking on the berries. Out of the corner of her eye, Gabby noticed his hand paused halfway to bringing another berry to his mouth. He seemed to stare at it for a moment before slowly lowering it._

 _"You used to pick berries and stuff." he said quietly, as if hoping only him and Gabby would hear the words. "You and Mom. She'd take you into the forest…back on the Isle. You'd pick berries or get honey and stuff. For cooking. The berries were small and wrinkly, but…until now they were the best things I'd ever tasted."_

 _Gabby just walked along silently, not knowing what to say, and not sure if she could speak past the lump in her throat._

 _"I miss that." Gil admitted in a whisper. "I miss Mom. I wanted to talk to you about it a lot after she died, but Dad and the twins just moved on so quickly, I thought…I thought I should, too. But I didn't. And I know you didn't, either."_

 _Gabby chanced a glance at her brother, and noticed him staring sadly at the berry in his fingers._

 _"I didn't want to hurt you." he added suddenly, looking over at her. His chocolate brown eyes stared desperately into her blue ones. It was almost poetic. Him, looking the most like their mother, and her looking the most like their father. "That day, my initiation. I didn't want to hurt you. I just…I just wanted a family." he admitted quietly. "I_ needed _to join Uma's crew. It was the closest I could get to a family over there. No one had ever had my back since Mom died. You were always getting beaten by Dad, and the twins never wanted anything to do with me. I was on my own. But with Uma and Harry, I knew they'd have my back if I just proved I had theirs."_

 _Gabby listened silently, her eyes watching Gil's face before drifting ahead. Harry, Carlos, and Jay were a few steps ahead, following Dude. She could tell by the way Jay's head with slightly turned that he was keeping half an ear on her conversation. Looking out for her, like always, ready to step in_ only _if she needed it. Jay, Carlos, Mal, Evie…they were her family. They had her back, and she had theirs. Just like she could tell Harry and Uma had Gil's back. They were his family. Could she really continue to fault him for wanting to be with his family, when she wanted the same?_

 _And earlier, when they all had to sword fight against dozens of enchanted suits of armor, Gil and Gabby had ended up fighting back-to-back a few times, defending each other just like they did for their friends. They_ all _had each others backs in that fight, despite which gang they were apart of._

 _Taking a deep breath, she turned to Gil and spoke quietly to keep their conversation as private as possible. "It hurt, back then, when you stopped standing up for me. But we were just kids. I've known for a long time, that I couldn't expect you to stand up to our father by yourself. I forgave that years ago. When you…beat me, to join Uma. That took longer to forgive. But I get it. They're your family. I would do anything for Jay, Mal, Evie, and Carlos. In a twisted, Isle-type way, you were fighting for your family."_

 _Taking a deep breath, Gabby looked Gil right in the eye. "I forgive you." she told him honestly._

 _Gil's face lit up with a goofy grin that hadn't change much since he was five years old. Gabby barely blinked before she was suddenly yanked into a too-tight hug, wrapped in a pair of huge arms. The breath was knocked out of her, and Gabby stood frozen in shock for a few seconds. They'd stopped walking and just stood in the forest, Gil hugging Gabby practically to death._

 _Slowly, hesitantly, Gabby lifted her arms and returned the hug, though nowhere near as tightly as her brother. She glanced to the side to see the others were still walking, but Jay had slowed down and was watching them over his shoulder. When their eyes met, he smirked at her and winked._

 _Gabby grinned slightly back, rolling her eyes at him._

(Present)

"So, he asked you?" Gil asked excitedly.

"You knew?" Gabby asked as he yanked her into another tight hug.

"Yeah, Jay mentioned it on our trip a couple months ago." Gil answered.

Jay and Gil went on a trip to one of the jungles in Auradon during a few days over spring break a couple months back. Gabby has suggested it when Tara gave her the idea, since her family lived in one of the jungles.

Gabby glanced over her shoulder as Jay returned to her side. "How long have you been planning this, exactly?" she asked curiously.

"Planning it? Little under a year." Jay admitted. "But I didn't get the ring until a few months back. Doug got me in contact with one of his uncles, they got me a good deal on the ring, which Evie also helped me pick out. And Mal suggested I propose in the rose garden a couple weeks back."

Gabby shook her head slightly in amazement. "Wow. Did you get _everyone_ involved?" she joked.

"No. Dude had nothing to do with it." Jay told her, smirking slightly.

 **10 Years Later: (2028)**

Gabby lowered her camera slightly with a small smirk.

"Bill, I don't think your sister is supposed to have bunny ears in this photo." she announced lightly.

Ben and Mal both looked down as the four year old boy at their side quickly moved his hand behind his back.

"William." Ben warned, though he was fighting a smile as he lightly ruffled his son's hair.

Bill smiled innocently up at his parents.

"Behave." Mal told him, shaking her head slightly in amusement. "We're almost done."

"Okay, Mom." Bill agreed. The royal family turned back to Gabby and smiled so she could take a few more photos. Mal was sitting in a chair, holding a tiny, purple-haired bundle wrapped in a lilac-colored baby blanket. The Queen of Auradon was dressed in a long, elegant, dark purple dress that flowed perfectly over her, since she still had some baby fat left after the birth of her and Ben's daughter a month ago. Her blue-purple hair was lightly curled and past her shoulders, a gold tiara with purple gems sat atop her head. Ben was standing just behind her chair and slightly to the side, one hand on the back of the chair. Their four year old son, Bill, stood next to the chair.

Gabby snapped several more photos of the royal family before deciding she had enough.

"Okay, that should be fine. Do you want to see some of them?" Gabby offered.

Bill hurried over and Gabby crouched down so he could see the photos on the screen of her camera. Ben and Mal joined them, Mal holding one month old Mae to her chest.

"Those look great!" Ben beamed as she finished scrolling through them. "Thanks again, Gabby, for doing this."

"I was happy to. You know that." Gabby told him, turning off her camera and putting it back in her camera bag. It was true, she still loved doing photography after all these years, plus she got to see her friends, which she didn't get to do enough. And they were paying for the session anyway, so it wasn't completely like she was doing them a favor. "I'll edit these and email you some of the completed options to choose from, as well as prices. Should be within a week."

Ben nodded. "Okay, thanks. And you'll be sure to include some of the pictures of just Mal and the kids, right?" he checked, making Mal roll her eyes.

Gabby nodded, refraining from chuckling. "Of course. I'll make sure there are plenty of options for you to choose from."

"Would you like to stay for lunch?" Mal asked.

"I wish I could," Gabby admitted, "but I wanted to stop a couple places on the way home, and I'd like to get home at a decent hour. At least to spend some time with the kids before bed."

"I get it." Mal agreed, looking down at the tiny bundle in her arms. Gabby could see the baby's face as she gazed back up at her mom. Ben and Mal's two kids were perfect mixtures of their parents. Bill had Ben's brown hair and Mal's green eyes. Mae was born with purple hair, to everyone's surprise, and Ben's hazel eyes. Gabby could see in Mal's face what she found herself wondering many times whenever she watched her own children. None of them could understand how their parents treated them the way they did. Gabby could never imagine laying a hand on any of her children. And she'd heard Jay several times, late in the night, whispering to their sleeping children promises that he would never hurt them, and that he would always protect them. He would never be the father Jafar had been.

Gabby said goodbye to Mal and Ben, and they all agreed that they all needed to get together again soon. All of them. Mal figured she could invite everyone over when the weather warmed up, and they could all have a huge picnic party in the castle courtyard; the very same one where Jay proposed.

Gabby left Ben and Mal's castle, a light snow beginning to fall as she drove through Auradon City. Auradon typically only had light winters, thanks to the fairies in Neverland and Elsa of Arendelle. A few months a year of just enough snow for the kids to have fun and families to celebrate a white Christmas.

Gabby parked her car as close to the Enchanted Lake as she could, making the rather long trek through the woods until she reached her destination.

The lake looked beautiful every time of year, or maybe that was Gabby being biased. After all, her and Jay technically had their first date there, even though it wasn't really a date.

The trees were covered in snow, icicles hung from the branches, and ice clung to the very edges of the water. It was beautiful and peaceful. Gabby snapped several different photos before turning and heading back the way she'd come.

She was used to traveling for work, especially long distances. The farthest she'd probably traveled for work was to Northern Wei to photograph one of their local dragon festivals. It was so far, she traveled by plane and stayed for a few days. Jay went with her and they made a fun trip out of it, and since they only had one child at the time, they left their daughter with Evie and Doug. But she preferred not being away from her family for very long if she could help it. Which is why she was making this five hour drive back home so she could at least tuck her kids in and sleep in the same bed as her husband.

After Jay proposed to her after she graduated, they'd moved in together in Sherwood Forest so Jay could finish college while Gabby built up her business. They got married after a year in a small ceremony. Jane, Evie, and Mal helped Gabby plan it, and Evie obviously designed her wedding dress. And since Gabby obviously couldn't take the pictures she asked Aria to do it.

After Jay graduated with his four year degree, they moved back to Auradon City for a couple years, where Jay worked as the R.O.A.R assistant coach at Auradon Prep. However, a couple years later, Jay got offered a job back at Sherwood Forest as the R.O.A.R head coach. Gabby knew how much that job would mean to him, so she pushed him to accept it. Only a few weeks later, they discovered she was pregnant with their first child.

It was a lot of stress and hard work, moving to a new home, Jay getting his new job, and getting ready for a new baby, but they got through it and were happier than they ever imagined being. They moved into a small cottage near the edge of Sherwood Forest, not far from a small village. It was almost an hour commute for Jay to go to work, but he didn't mind, and that brought them about an hour closer to everywhere else.

That small cottage was where Gabby's business, and her life with Jay, continued to grow. There was a large back room in the cottage that Gabby had set up as a photography studio. She did most of her work outside of the studio, but occasionally people wanted their photos taken in the studio. Jay had been right when he said her business would pick up after taking Ben and Mal's wedding photos, as well as all their official royal photos.

After the long, five hour drive, Gabby pulled up in front of her home. She walked up the steps to the porch, seeing dim light pouring from the living room window. The sun had mostly set, it was early evening at best. Unlocking the door, Gabby silently slipped inside.

A fire was crackling in the living room fireplace, and some mouthwatering smell was drifting from the kitchen. Gabby could hear the sounds of children talking and laughing from down the hall, but her eyes were drawn to the couch in front of the fireplace. She smiled, and couldn't resist pulling up her camera to snap a few photos.

Jay was sprawled out on the couch, one arm bent up to tuck his hand under his head. His other hand was holding a tiny sleeping baby to his chest. Gabby moved slowly to the couch and sat carefully on the edge by Jay's waist. The couch dipped slightly, but Jay barely stirred. Gabby reached up and ran her fingers over his forehead, brushing strands of his long, brown hair out of his face. Finally, he stirred and blinked open his eyes. He looked up at Gabby for a moment before smiling tiredly up at her.

"Hey. You're back. How was Ben and Mal's?" he asked, shifting slightly and putting both hands on the baby's back to keep her from falling.

"It was good. Bill's becoming a little troublemaker." Gabby answered with a small smirk, thinking of how the young prince had given his sister bunny ears with his two fingers.

Jay chuckled. "Sounds like he's got the VK gene in him." he joked.

"Speaking of, how were our little VKs today?" Gabby asked, moving her hand to lightly run her finger's over her baby daughter's soft hair.

Jay normally wasn't left alone with their kids for very long, but he'd done it enough that it wasn't usually a problem. He worked Monday through Friday almost every week apart from during the summer, and he occasionally worked Saturdays, when his team had games. Gabby, since she was her own boss, was usually able to work her schedule around his and avoided making appointments that involved travel when he worked. But sometimes it was unavoidable. Today, as a Saturday, was the best day for Gabby, Ben, and Mal's schedule to do the photo shoot. And Jay only had some brief meeting in the morning so Annette, wife of Bobby Hood and daughter-in-law of Robin Hood, had babysat them for the first few hours of the day.

Jay chuckled. "Annette said they were fine, apart from trying to play catch with one of my tourney balls in the living room. Oh, and Lonnie called and said her and Murph will be in the area in a couple weeks and asked if we all want to get together."

Gabby nodded with a smile. "That sounds great." Lonnie and Big Murph, who went by Murph now, both still lived in Northern Wei. Lonnie had taken over the coach position of the professional R.O.A.R team there while Murph was part of the Emperor's royal guard. They also had one son, Lance, who was a couple years old.

It was kind of bittersweet that all their friends were so spread out over Auradon so that they didn't get to see each other as often as they'd like. But they tried to make time to all get together whenever they could. Ben and Mal obviously lived in their castle in Auradon City, busy with their royal duties. Doug and Evie still lived in their little cottage in the woods just outside Auradon City, though they'd added to it so it wasn't quite so little anymore. Evie was still running her successful business, Evie's 4 Hearts, which Doug helped her manage while also being the school music teacher at Auradon Prep. They also had two children. Destiny, their daughter, had perfect blue hair, Doug's green eyes, and perfectly fair skin with rosy cheeks. She was easily Doug and Evie's little princess. Their son, Ezekiel, or Zeke, was almost Doug's little mini-me, looking exactly like his father apart from Evie's brown eyes. At a couple years old, he also enjoyed digging out his father's old trumpet when left to his own devices for more than a few minutes. Carlos worked in a technology company while also helping out with an animal rescue, while Jane ran a party planning business. They had one little girl, though Gabby heard they were considering having another one. Chloe De Vil was as adorable as her parents, with Jane's big blue eyes, curly black and white hair that was usually in pigtails, and freckles spattered over her cheeks.

Gil would be spending Christmas with Gabby and Jay's family in a few weeks, a tradition they'd started almost a decade ago. Gil was the only biological family member Gabby was in contact with, as she had no interest in talking to her father or twin brothers, and they'd never bothered contacting her at all. Just like Jay's cousin, Jade, was the only blood relative he'd been in contact with. Her and Aziz had been dancing around each other for a couple years now, from what she heard.

A timer went off in the kitchen, interrupting the rest of their conversation.

"Dinner's ready." Jay announced unnecessarily, carefully sitting up with the baby cradled to his chest. "I made that beef stew you like."

Gabby grinned, trying not to roll her eyes. She was still the main cook in the family, but there were several recipes Jay could make. The beef stew was _his_ favorite because; A: he loves beef, and B: all he had to do was throw chunks of beef, sliced carrots, cubed potatoes, salt, pepper, and broth into a slow cooker and leave it for about seven hours. It was possibly the easiest recipe they knew. But that didn't mean Gabby didn't appreciate it.

"Sounds perfect." Gabby leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Want me to start setting the table while-"

"No, I'll do that. You can go tell the kids dinner's ready." Jay interrupted with a smirk. "They'll be happy to see you."

Gabby kissed him again, dropping another kiss to the baby's head before standing and making her way down the hall to the bedroom at the far end of the house. She stopped just inside the doorway and leaned her shoulder against the door, watching the scene with a warm smile.

A five year old girl and three year old boy were playing together, sitting on either side of a relatively large wooden toy castle. A parrot was perched on a bedpost, and a small dog was curled up in a dog bed in the corner. The girl was playing with a cloth doll in a princess-like blue and gold gown, while the boy was moving a purple toy dragon around the castle's roof. All three toys were Christmas gifts from the previous year; the castle was a handmade gift that Jay and Gil found the time to build together, Evie bought the doll, but made a few dresses for it, including the one it was currently wearing, and the dragon was obviously a gift from Mal and Ben. Judging by how the two kids were acting, they were pretending the dragon was attacking the castle while the doll fought it off.

"Dinner's ready." Gabby announced suddenly. Both kids' heads snapped up at her voice.

"MOM!" they screamed, dropping everything and racing the few steps across the room to throw themselves at her, mostly wrapping their little arms around her legs. Gabby's faithful parrot Gingersnap, now about twenty-four years old, flew to Gabby's shoulder while the little dog in the corner bounded over, tail wagging. Daisy, who was mostly the kids' dog, was a small mutt with brown fur with white patches, and longer ears with darker, curly fur on them. Daisy was the result of Carlos' dog Dude meeting up with a Cocker Spaniel mix. And despite Gil's wishes, none of their puppies could talk, which was a relief to Gabby. Dude wasn't known for having a brain to mouth filter, and she didn't need one of his kids talking and living under her roof, blurting out every little secret and detail of her life.

"Whoa! Careful, you'll knock me over!" Gabby laughed, hugging them both tightly.

"Did you see Auntie Mal's baby?" Rose demanded.

"Did you give Bill my pwesent?" Grayson interrupted.

"Whoa, one question at a time." Gabby laughed again. "Yes, I saw the baby, I have some pictures I can show you later. And yes, Bill loved your drawing. He asked his dad to hang it on his bedroom wall." she answered them both. Their oldest daughter, Rose, had black hair, Jay's brown eyes, and sun-kissed skin just a few shades lighter than Jay's. Grayson, their only son, had blue eyes and Jay's brown hair, though it was messy and Gabby knew they'd need to take him in for his first haircut soon, if only to clean it up a bit. "Now, come on. Daddy said dinner's ready."

The kids ran out of the room ahead of their mother, leaving Gabby to shake her head at them as she followed. As she reached the kitchen, Jay was setting the last bowl of food at the table with one hand, still holding the baby with his other hand. Rose was already sitting in her chair while Grayson was struggling to climb up onto his. Gabby lifted him onto the seat before walking around the table and taking her baby daughter from Jay. Her husband kissed the baby on the head and Gabby on the lips before taking his own seat.

Gabby smiled down at her youngest child, Justice, who was sleepily blinking open her eyes. She had a head full of very dark brown hair that almost looked black unless the sun hit it right. She also had the same sun-kissed skin as her brother and sister, and Jay's brown eyes. She was just over three months old, and today was the first day Gabby had been away from her for more than a few hours. It had been difficult, but also a tiny bit of a relief to get out of the house.

Gabby sat down with Rose and Grayson on either side, sitting Justice up on her lap with one arm so she could eat with her other hand. Gingersnap was still perched on her shoulder. Gabby smiled as Rose started telling her about her day in between bites of stew. Jay was helping Grayson, who still hadn't quite mastered using his spoon the right way.

This was the life Gabby had deemed impossible fifteen years ago. She was happy, with a successful business that she loved, in the perfect home, a loving husband, and beautiful children who she loved more than anything in the world. And all her friends and family had happy lives of their own.

 _ **THE END**_

 **AN: Now this story is officially complete. And I have no plans to write a sequel, given how I think I wrapped it up rather nicely. I hope everyone liked my little inclusion of Gil. He was honestly just so adorable in the third movie, and I couldn't resist adding him. And I think that scene in the movie that I reference in Gabby's little flashback lead perfectly up to Gabby and Gil's reconciliation. And I hope you all like how all their lives turned out. Review and let me know what you all thought of this epilogue, and the story in general, please. I love hearing from all of you and your reviews are what keep me writing, with this and any of my stories.**

 **Speaking of, I have a couple other Descendants stories on my fanfiction for those of you who haven't read them yet. I also have several stories in my head that I'm trying to get written, so who knows? I may have a new Descendants story out in the future, though I'm not sure when.**

 **Thanks again! You're all amazing!**


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